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| Diabetes innovation scoops award | Diabetes innovation scoops award |
| (7 days later) | |
| A Scottish scientist has won a major award for a treatment which could allow diabetics to inhale insulin. | A Scottish scientist has won a major award for a treatment which could allow diabetics to inhale insulin. |
| Currently, Scotland's 200,000 diabetes patients need daily injections to regulate their blood sugar levels. | Currently, Scotland's 200,000 diabetes patients need daily injections to regulate their blood sugar levels. |
| Dr Marie-Claire Parker, chief executive of Glasgow-based company XstalBio, has developed tiny particles containing insulin which can be inhaled. | Dr Marie-Claire Parker, chief executive of Glasgow-based company XstalBio, has developed tiny particles containing insulin which can be inhaled. |
| She is due to pick up the Royal Society of Edinburgh's top award for science innovation on Friday. | She is due to pick up the Royal Society of Edinburgh's top award for science innovation on Friday. |
| The society said her work could transform the treatment of many diseases and save countless lives. | The society said her work could transform the treatment of many diseases and save countless lives. |
| What we do is make particles which are not unlike Lego bricks, but obviously reduced down to a very small size Dr Marie-Claire Parker | What we do is make particles which are not unlike Lego bricks, but obviously reduced down to a very small size Dr Marie-Claire Parker |
| Diabetes is not fatal if the condition is managed properly, but if left untreated it can cause nerve damage or blindness. | Diabetes is not fatal if the condition is managed properly, but if left untreated it can cause nerve damage or blindness. |
| Many sufferers need to have injections of insulin up to four times a day. | Many sufferers need to have injections of insulin up to four times a day. |
| Dr Parker has developed a micro-crystal which can be coated with tiny particles of insulin. | Dr Parker has developed a micro-crystal which can be coated with tiny particles of insulin. |
| She said: "What we do is make particles which are not unlike Lego bricks, but obviously reduced down to a very small size - about 1,000th the width of a human hair." | She said: "What we do is make particles which are not unlike Lego bricks, but obviously reduced down to a very small size - about 1,000th the width of a human hair." |
| She said they were "very stable" and very resistant to conditions like high temperature and humidity, which made them easy to store. | She said they were "very stable" and very resistant to conditions like high temperature and humidity, which made them easy to store. |
| Given its simplicity, it should work Professor Andrew Walker | Given its simplicity, it should work Professor Andrew Walker |
| The Royal Society of Edinburgh's Gannochy Trust Innovation Award is described as Scotland's highest accolade for individual achievement in innovation. | The Royal Society of Edinburgh's Gannochy Trust Innovation Award is described as Scotland's highest accolade for individual achievement in innovation. |
| Professor Andrew Walker said Dr Parker had come up with a simple idea which was also "intellectually a very satisfactory concept". | Professor Andrew Walker said Dr Parker had come up with a simple idea which was also "intellectually a very satisfactory concept". |
| "Given its simplicity, it should work," he said. | "Given its simplicity, it should work," he said. |
| However, one diabetes charity warned that there was still work to be done. | However, one diabetes charity warned that there was still work to be done. |
| Earlier this year the body which gives guidance on the use of treatments by the NHS south of the border rejected a diabetes inhaler on cost grounds. | Earlier this year the body which gives guidance on the use of treatments by the NHS south of the border rejected a diabetes inhaler on cost grounds. |
| Cost-effective | Cost-effective |
| The drug Exubera, manufactured by Pfizer, would cost more than £1,000 each year for each patient. | The drug Exubera, manufactured by Pfizer, would cost more than £1,000 each year for each patient. |
| Campaigners were disappointed by the draft guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for England and Wales. | Campaigners were disappointed by the draft guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for England and Wales. |
| Audrey Birt, the director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said the challenges for Dr Parker were to make the treatment cost-effective, portable, accessible and discreet to use. | Audrey Birt, the director of Diabetes UK Scotland, said the challenges for Dr Parker were to make the treatment cost-effective, portable, accessible and discreet to use. |
| There was also a need to ensure that users received a consistent and accurate dosage which was not affected by factors such as the user contracting a virus. | There was also a need to ensure that users received a consistent and accurate dosage which was not affected by factors such as the user contracting a virus. |