A DIABETES “patch” that administers insulin through a plaster stuck to a person’s skin could end the need for the daily regime of injections endured by diabetics.

A company in Wales has been awarded £120,000 of National Lottery funding to develop the patch, which contains a tiny pump to deliver insulin and other drugs. The patch — which looks like a cross between a credit card and a first-aid plaster — is worn on the skin and lets patients carry and receive a three-day supply of insulin anywhere on their body.

About 1.4 million people in the UK are known to have diabetes, but a further million are estimated to have it without knowing.

Starbridge Systems, based in Swansea, has been awarded funding by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (Nesta) to develop a prototype patch, which is due to be completed by next year.

The technology could also be modified to help other patients who have to use large, unwieldy pumps with tubes and long needles to administer their drugs at home.

The firm believes that the principle behind products such as nicotine patches, which release the tobacco ingredient slowly into the bloodstream through the skin, can be applied to treat conditions needing more carefully controlled and precise delivery.

Current insulin pumps are worn on the belt and deliver insulin through a catheter into the skin. These can be bulky and tubes can get in the way and even become blocked. The new plaster would be much more inconspicuous.

Joseph Cefai, co-founder and chief executive of Starbridge Systems, said development of tiny pumps, which could respond to high-density light bursts, could free diabetics from injection regimes within five years. “It will release diabetics from the need to use syringes and needles, enabling them continuously to infuse insulin. They’ll be able to lead a normal life,” he said.

Times Recommends

• Swine flu vaccine for all as drug rushed through
• Artificial sperm and the race to build a baby
• BBC jets out stars to tout for prizes