Joseph Brain Discusses Obesity, Diabetes, and the Rise and Fall of Inhaled Insulin. Why did Pfizer Pull the Plug on Exubera?"

A pandemic has swept through the country. Everyone’s fatter. Who’s responsible? Is it individuals making bad choices, evil corporations, or societal change? The consequences of obesity are many, especially Type 2 diabetes. In turn, diabetes affects every organ in the body. Its impact on cardiovascular disease is legendary, but did you know that diabetes is the leading cause of kidney dialysis and kidney transplants in the U.S.? Besides preventing diabetes and its causes, earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of diabetes are needed. Inhaled insulin makes sense. Patients prefer it to injections and it works. Pfizer invested $3 billion to create an inhaled insulin product. But a year after Exubera® was approved by the FDA and the EU, Pfizer withdrew it from the market and took a $2.8 billion write off. Why? What happened?

Dr. Brain is the Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Physiology in the Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health. Biographical and research information can be viewed on his Harvard web site.