Novo Nordisk have announced that they are discontinuing three of their insulin products. Please be reassured that there are equivalent products available and this announcement has been made with plenty of notice so there will be minimal disruption to patient's care. Please see below for more information about the specific products affected. The dates provided for when the products are expected to be available until are estimates based on current usage.

 

As of early October 2024, the department of health has yet to make an announcement on the situation. They will be discussing with various insulin manufacturers to ensure that supplies of alternatives are not impacted. Once they have released their guidance, patients will be contacted about changing to an equivalent product. This may be handled by your surgery team, or the specialist team at the local hospital that you are under.

 

Surgeries will not be issuing extra supply of the below products to patients in light of this announcement as this will lead to supplies running out more quickly.

 

Levemir - All forms of Levemir are being discontinued, but supply is expected to be available until around December 2026. We are currently anticipating that for most patients the changes will be managed by their hospital teams at their next review.

 

Insulatard penfills - Supplies are expect to last until March 2025. Once the department of health has released their guidance patients will be contacted by their local surgery team to explore alternatives.

 

NovoRapid FlexTouch pens - Supplies are expected to last until March 2025. NovoRapid insulin will still be available via the Flexpen device which is very similar, as well as cartridges and vials. We are anticipating that patients will be changed over to the Flexpen device or the cartridges, which are used with a non-disposable pen. We are waiting for the department of health to confirm the best course of action depending on supply levels of these products.

 

If you have any concerns or queries relating to this, please contact your surgery.