Biologic
RCSB PDB 5UDP
Insulin lispro
Humalog
- Mechanism of action
- Insulin receptor agonist (rapid-acting analog)
- In plain language
- A lab-made insulin engineered to absorb faster than natural insulin, so it starts pulling sugar out of the blood within minutes of a meal instead of taking longer to kick in.
- How it works
- Insulin lispro (Humalog) is a rapid-acting human insulin analog, differing from native human insulin by a single amino-acid swap (proline and lysine reversed at positions B28 and B29) that speeds its absorption after subcutaneous injection. Per the FDA label, like all insulins, it lowers blood glucose by stimulating peripheral glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and fat and by inhibiting hepatic glucose production, while also inhibiting lipolysis and proteolysis and enhancing protein synthesis. Insulin lispro is equipotent to regular human insulin on a molar basis, but has a more rapid onset and shorter duration of action, allowing it to be dosed within 15 minutes before or immediately after a meal rather than the 30-60 minutes needed for regular insulin.
- Therapeutic applications
- Insulin lispro (Humalog) is FDA-indicated to improve glycemic control in adult and pediatric patients with diabetes mellitus.
- Class
- Peptide analog
- Therapeutic area
- Metabolic / Diabetes
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