Elucidating the mechanism

All animal experiments were approved by the Novo Nordisk Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body before submission to the national authority.

Domestic pigs (Landrace-Yorkshire-Duroc [LYD]) were accommodated and cared for by competent personnel and supervised by laboratory animal veterinarians.

Niacinamide mediates the acceleration of initial insulin aspart absorption, and the mechanism of action appears to be multifaceted.

Niacinamide increases the initial abundance of insulin aspart monomers and transport of insulin aspart after subcutaneous administration, and also mediates a transient, local vasodilatory effect.

Fast-acting insulin aspart (faster aspart) is a novel formulation of insulin aspart containing two additional excipients: niacinamide, to increase early absorption, and L-arginine, to optimize stability.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of niacinamide on insulin aspart absorption and to investigate the mechanism of action underlying the accelerated absorption.

The oligomerization of insulin is partly driven by hydrophobic interactions, as the thermodynamically favorable shielding of hydrophobic residues plays an important role in formation of the insulin hexamer.

Niacinamide and many of its derivatives belong to a group of compounds classified as hydrotropes ().

Animals were housed with 12-h day–night cycles with lights on at am, in a holding room with target temperatures of 21±2 °C and target relative humidity from 30–70%.

Pigs were single housed in enriched pens with the possibility of social interaction.

They had free access to water and were fed a standard diet according to their weight.

Pens contained wood shavings, straw and toys for environmental enrichment.

Limiting excessive postprandial glucose (PPG) excursions is a major challenge in the treatment of diabetes.