This blog has continued researching and reporting on potential Exubera inhaled insulin risks for more than two years.

Pfizer’s and Nektar’s announcements this morning that 6 of the 4,740 patients using Exubera in clinical studies developed lung cancer confirms what this blogger has been saying all along:

That it was foolish of the FDA to rush into conditionally approving the inhaled insulin without first completing long-term safety studies of the diabetes drug.

During that time, we’ve examined studies, concerns by endocrinologists and pulmonologists about the drug, and caution by diabetics.
Nektar announced today that it “ceased all negotiations with potential partners for its inhaled insulin programs as a result of new data analysis” citing lung cancer developed by patients in Exubera safety studies.

Pfizer appeared to suggest that any diabetics who developed lung cancer while on Exubera might be at fault, since “all patients who developed lung cancer had a prior history of cigarette smoking.”
Not surprisingly, the drugmaker pooh-poohed the cancer findings, claiming there “were too few cases to determine whether the development of lung cancer is related to the use of Exubera.” Citing financial reasons, Pfizer already opted to yank Exubera from its product line last fall.