Monash PhD student leads major insulin breakthrough

A PhD student from Monash University has succeeded in tweaking the chemical structure of insulin leading potentially to the development of medications that are stable at room temperature.

One of the many debilitating factors affecting diabetics is that insulin must be refrigerated, making storage of medication difficult. This is especially problematic in third world countries as well as in Australia’s remote Aboriginal communities where the disease is at epidemic levels.

The ability to store insulin at room temperature could help to dramatically improve the quality of life for diabetics all over the world.

“Over two hundred million people need insulin to manage diabetes, but we still don’t how it works at a molecular level,” said Bianca van Lierop, the 26-year old PhD student leading the team of researchers at Monash.

She added that in addition to potentially eliminating the need for insulin to be refrigerated, the new insulin molecule may also lead to the development of an insulin pill, allowing diabetics to once and for all dispense with needles.

The group has filed two provisional patent applications and has a commercial partnership with Australian-biotech and biotech incubator Circadian Technologies aimed at attracting funding and developing strategies for commercial development, van Lierop said.