Insulin,side effects
insulin, regular, human 4 UNT Inhalation Powder [Afrezza]
Adverse reactions
The following serious adverse reactions are described below and elsewhere in the labeling: Acute bronchospasm in patients with chronic lung disease Hypoglycemia Decline in pulmonary function Lung cancer Diabetic ketoacidosis Hypersensitivity reactions The most common adverse reactions associated with AFREZZA (2% or greater incidence) are hypoglycemia, cough, and throat pain or irritation To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact MannKind at 1-877-323-8505 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
6.1 Clinical
Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. Adverse Reactions in Clinical Trials in Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus The data described below reflect exposure of 3,017 adult patients to AFREZZA and include 1,026 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and 1,991 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean exposure duration was 8.2 months for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and those with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
In the overall population: 1,874 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus were exposed to AFREZZA for 6 months and 724 patients for greater than one year. 620 and 1,254 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, respectively, were exposed to AFREZZA for up to 6 months. 238 and 486 patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, respectively, were exposed to AFREZZA for greater than one year (median exposure was 1.8 years). AFREZZA was studied in placebo and active-controlled adult trials (n = 3 and n = 10, respectively). The mean age of the adult population was 50 years and 20 patients were older than 75 years of age; 51% of the population were males; 83% were White, 5% were Black or African American, and 2% were Asian; 10% were Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. At baseline, the type 1 diabetes mellitus population had diabetes mellitus for an average of 17 years and had a mean HbA1c of 8.3%, and the type 2 diabetes mellitus population had diabetes mellitus for an average of 11 years and had a mean HbA1c of 8.8%. At baseline, 33% of the population reported peripheral neuropathy, 32% reported retinopathy and 20% had a history of cardiovascular disease. Table 2 shows the frequency of common adverse reactions, excluding hypoglycemia, associated with the use of AFREZZA in the pool of controlled trials in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus patients that occurred more commonly on AFREZZA than on placebo and/or comparator and occurred in at least 2% of patients treated with AFREZZA. Table 2. Common Adverse Reactions That Occurred in ≥ 2% in Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (excluding Hypoglycemia) Treated with AFREZZA Adverse Reaction AFREZZA (n = 1,991) % Placebo a (n = 290) % Non-placebo comparators (n=1,363) % Cough 26 20 5 Throat pain or irritation 4 4 1 Headache 3 3 2 Diarrhea 3 1 2 Productive cough 2 1 1 Fatigue 2 1 1 Nausea 2 0.3 1 a Carrier particle without insulin was used as placebo. Table 3 shows the frequency of common adverse reactions, excluding hypoglycemia, associated with the use of AFREZZA in the pool of active-controlled trials in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus. These adverse reactions occurred more commonly on AFREZZA than on comparator and occurred in at least 2% of patients treated with AFREZZA. Table 3. Common Adverse Reactions That Occurred in ≥ 2% in Adult Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (excluding Hypoglycemia) Treated with AFREZZA Adverse Reaction AFREZZA (n=1,026) % Subcutaneous Insulin (n = 835) % Cough 29 5 Throat pain or irritation 6 2 Headache 5 3 Pulmonary function test decreased 3 1 Bronchitis 3 2 Urinary tract infection 2 2 Hypoglycemia Hypoglycemia is the most commonly observed adverse reaction in patients treated with AFREZZA. The rates of reported hypoglycemia depend on the definition of hypoglycemia used, diabetes type, insulin dose, intensity of glucose control, background therapies, and other intrinsic and extrinsic patient factors. For these reasons, comparing rates of hypoglycemia across clinical trials of AFREZZA or with the incidence of hypoglycemia for other insulin products may be misleading and also, may not be representative of hypoglycemia rates that will occur in clinical practice. The incidence of severe and non-severe hypoglycemia in AFREZZA-treated patients versus placebo-treated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus is shown in Table 4. A hypoglycemic episode was recorded if a patient reported symptoms of hypoglycemia with or without a blood glucose value consistent with hypoglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia was defined as an event with symptoms consistent with hypoglycemia requiring the assistance of another person and associated with either a blood glucose value consistent with hypoglycemia or prompt recovery after treatment for hypoglycemia. Table 4. Incidence of Severe and Non-Severe Hypoglycemia in a Placebo-Controlled Study of Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Hypoglycemia Severity AFREZZA (N=177) Placebo (N=176) Severe Hypoglycemia 5% 2% Non-Severe Hypoglycemia 67% 30% Other Adverse Reactions in Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes MellitusOther Adverse Reactions in Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Cough Approximately 27% of adults treated with AFREZZA reported cough, compared to approximately 5% of patients treated with comparator. In clinical trials, cough was the most common reason for discontinuation of AFREZZA therapy (3% of adult AFREZZA-treated patients). Pulmonary Function Decline In clinical trials lasting up to 2 years, excluding patients with chronic lung disease, adults treated with AFREZZA had a 40 mL (95% CI: -80, -1) greater decline from baseline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) compared to patients treated with comparator anti-diabetes treatments. The decline occurred during the first 3 months of therapy and persisted over 2 years ( Figure 1 ). A decline in FEV 1 of ≥ 15% occurred in 6% of AFREZZA-treated patients compared to 3% of comparator-treated patients. Figure 1. Mean (+/-SE) Change in FEV 1 (Liters) from Baseline for Adult Patients with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Figure 1 Weight Gain Weight gain has occurred with some insulin therapies, including AFREZZA. Weight gain has been attributed to the anabolic effects of insulin and the decrease in glycosuria. In a clinical trial of adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, there was a mean 0.49 kg weight gain among AFREZZA-treated patients compared with a mean 1.13 kg weight loss among placebo-treated patients. Adverse Reactions in the Clinical Trial in Pediatric Patients Aged 6 Years and Older with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus A 26-week open-label, randomized clinical trial evaluated the safety of AFREZZA versus rapid-acting insulin analog (RAA), both in combination with basal insulin, in 230 pediatric patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus. The trial was followed by a 26-week safety extension. The mean age of patients was 12.6 years (range: 4 to 17 in the RAA arm, 6 to 17 in the AFREZZA arm). The majority (97.8%) had type 1 diabetes mellitus; a small subset (2.2%) had type 2 diabetes mellitus. The trial population had the following characteristics: 38% were female, 77% were White, 10% were Black or African American, 3% were Asian, 6% multiracial, and 20% were Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Table 5 shows the frequency of common adverse reactions, excluding hypoglycemia, associated with the use of AFREZZA during the pediatric clinical trial. Data observed for 52 weeks was consistent with the 26-week safety profile. These adverse reactions occurred more commonly on AFREZZA than the comparator and occurred in at least 5% of patients treated with AFREZZA. The overall safety profile was similar to that of adults. In this trial, the change in percent predicted FEV1 from baseline to Week 26 was similar in both groups. Table 5. Common Adverse Reactions That Occurred in ≥ 5% of Pediatric Patients Aged 6 Years and Older With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (excluding Hypoglycemia) Treated with AFREZZA and More Commonly on AFREZZA Than on RAA Adverse Reaction a AFREZZA (n=117) % RAA (n=113) % Cough 21 3 Upper respiratory tract infection 18 14 Oropharyngeal pain 11 4 Headache 8 5 Vomiting 5 3 a This study was not designed to evaluate meaningful comparisons of adverse reaction incidence between AFREZZA and RAA. Hypoglycemia In the pediatric clinical trial, events of severe hypoglycemia (level 3) were defined as an episode associated with severe cognitive impairment requiring external assistance for recovery. Level 3 hypoglycemia was reported in 2 (1.7%) AFREZZA-treated pediatric patients versus 1 (0.9%) RAA-treated patient during the randomized treatment period.
6.2 Postmarketing
Experience The following adverse reaction has been identified during post approval use of AFREZZA. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure: Respiratory: bronchospasm.
Text above is quoted in full from the FDA-approved drug label published by openFDA, effective May 30, 2026. Matched to this product by RxNorm code. Cross-references to other sections of the full prescribing information have been removed, since they point to a document not shown here. Nothing else is changed: no sentence is shortened, reworded or summarised.
Contraindications
AFREZZA is contraindicated: During episodes of hypoglycemia. In patients with chronic lung disease, such as asthma or COPD, because of the risk of acute bronchospasm. In patients with a previous severe hypersensitivity reaction to any regular human insulin product or any of the inactive ingredients in AFREZZA. Severe, life-threatening, generalized allergy, including anaphylaxis, can occur with AFREZZA. During episodes of hypoglycemia Chronic lung disease, such as asthma, or COPD Hypersensitivity to any regular human insulin product or any of the inactive ingredients in AFREZZA
Text above is quoted in full from the FDA-approved drug label published by openFDA, effective May 30, 2026. Matched to this product by RxNorm code. Cross-references to other sections of the full prescribing information have been removed, since they point to a document not shown here. Nothing else is changed: no sentence is shortened, reworded or summarised.
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