CANADA: Three generations tackle diabetes together with pre-filled insulin pen

LAVAL, Quebec (CanadaNewsWire), March 19, 2008: A diagnosis of diabetes often means the beginning of a life-long struggle to manage blood sugar levels. But for sisters Tina Trotter and Carmen Trudel of Winnipeg, both living with type 1 diabetes, tackling diabetes together with family makes it a lot easier. Along with Trudel's nine-year-old son Jonathan and their mother Helen Compayre, they have started using the newly available pre-filled insulin pen, as part of their daily diabetes management efforts to achieve long-term glucose control. Lantus SoloSTAR is claimed to be the first pre-loaded insulin pen available in Canada that provides 24-hour glucose-lowering activity for patients living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes with a single injection. Most insulins have a "peak of action", which refers to the time at which insulin reaches its maximum effect in the body. With Lantus, the insulin is released into the bloodstream at a relatively constant rate throughout the day and night; therefore, it has no pronounced peak. Lantus is introduced by Sanofi-Aventis, listed in Paris and New York and represented in Canada by the pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis Canada Inc., based in Laval, Quebec, and by the vaccines company Sanofi Pasteur Limited, based in Toronto, Ontario. Together they employ more than 2,000 people across the country. © 2005 CNW Group Ltd.