Poor Insulin Pen Design

I have two different insulin prescriptions. The white pen is Toujeo, a long-lasting version that I inject in the morning. The other is Humalog, a fast-acting insulin that I inject before each meal. They are made by different companies and come in different delivery packages.

I have always liked the white pens better. It feels like a higher quality build and has a much more defined “clicks” when you inject the insulin. I am not sure if each drug company, in this case Sanofi‐Aventis and Eli Lilly, design and manufacture their own pens (not the insulin), or if they purchase them from a third party. In any case, I wish they would standardize the form factor. At least the pen needles are standardized so I do not have to buy two differnt needles.

Back to the quality issue, a second Humalog pen failed on me this week. In both cases, the dose selection wheel is either broken or disengaged so you cannot inject the remaining insulin left in the pen. Also in both cases, about one-quarter of the insulin originally in the pen must be discarded. Such a waste since insulin costs so much here in the US.