Health Canada has approved Baqsimi intranasal dry powder glucagon for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia in patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, Eli Lilly Canada has announced. Baqsimi is now available in Canadian pharmacies with or without a prescription.
Lilly acquired worldwide rights to the intranasal glucagon formulation from Locemia, which is based in Quebec, in 2015. Baqsimi, which is delivered via Aptar Pharma’s Unidose Powder System, was approved in the US in July 2019.
Lilly Canada General Manager Lisa Matar commented, “Our legacy as a company began in diabetes here in Canada and it is exciting to see that a hundred years after Lilly helped to make insulin available to the world, we continue to have a positive impact on the lives of people with diabetes. Baqsimi is another great example of our commitment to partnerships, collaboration, and innovation in the treatment of severe hypoglycemia.”
University of Toronto Associate Professor Alice Cheng said, “We know that a severe low blood sugar can have very serious consequences. Fear of a severe low can create a great deal of anxiety for the person living with diabetes and the people who care for them. The person experiencing the severe low is entirely dependent on the help of others. Finally, a new rescue treatment is available in Canada that is easier to use through nasal administration so a bystander can help someone in need.”
Read the Eli Lilly Canada press release.
