Assessment for ease of use and preference of a new prefilled insulin pen (FlexTouch Degludec U100/U200) versus the SoloSTAR insulin pen by patients with diabetes and healthcare professionals

Objective: FlexTouch® (FT) is a new prefilled insulin pen with no push-button extension and a low injection force used to deliver several basal insulins, including insulin degludec across a wide dose range (1 - 80 units with FT 100 IU/ml [FT100] and 2 - 160 units with 200 IU/ml [FT200]). This study was carried out to evaluate whether the novel features of FT affect the preferences of the device among patients with diabetes and healthcare professionals compared with the widely used SoloSTAR® pen.

Research design and methods: A multicenter, randomized, open-label, crossover study compared FT100 and FT200 with SoloSTAR. The study included patients with either type 1 (n = 22) or type 2 diabetes (n = 42), nurses (n = 32) and physicians (n = 32). Subjects were randomized to test each of the FT100, FT200 and SoloSTAR pens in a crossover set up. Subjects performed injections into a foam cushion at 4 - 6 different doses per device (2, 20, 40, 80, 120 and 160 IU).

Results: Overall, a significantly higher proportion of subjects, including dexterity-impaired and pen-naive patients, preferred to use FT100 (93.0%; 119/128) and FT200 (91.4%; 117/128) compared with 2.3% (3/128) and 3.9% (5/128) who preferred SoloSTAR (p < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusion: FT100 and FT200 were preferred over SoloSTAR by nurses, physicians and patients with diabetes. This may be due to the novel design of FT, which improves ease of use, preference and confidence in delivering a complete, accurate dose of insulin, even at high doses.