spec sheet7 rows
Insulin detemir is a long acting basal insulin analogue in which an attached fatty acid binds it to albumin, giving a flatter and more reproducible profile than NPH.
- flat basal profile from albumin binding
- less nocturnal hypoglycaemia than isophane insulin
- more reproducible day to day than NPH
- a good drug in its own right
- Insulin detemir is acylated with a 14-carbon fatty acid; reversible albumin binding after injection produces slow absorption and a protracted effect up to 24 hours with low variability [2].
- Its advantage over NPH is less nocturnal hypoglycaemia and lower fasting-glucose variability, not better HbA1c, which is only marginally improved [1].
- It causes less of the weight gain usually associated with starting insulin (PMID 17326333, PMID 21735405).
- A Cochrane review of 4 trials in 2,250 people with type 2 diabetes found no clinically relevant efficacy or safety difference versus insulin glargine [5].
- The catch is dosing: 13.6% to 57.2% of detemir patients ended up injecting twice daily at a higher total dose to match once-daily glargine [5].
Mechanism
A myristic acid side chain on lysine B29 lets detemir bind reversibly to albumin both in the subcutaneous depot and in plasma, so only the small free fraction reaches the receptor at any moment. That buffering produces the flat action profile and the lower rate of nocturnal hypoglycaemia compared with isophane insulin.
receptor fingerprint
receptor (INSR)Full agonist; the des-B30, LysB29-myristoylated human insulin analogue signals through IRS-1/PI3K/Akt to drive glucose uptake and suppress hepatic glucose output
Human serum albuminReversible binding through the 14-carbon myristic acid chain, in the subcutaneous depot and in circulation; this is the protraction mechanism, not crystallisation or pH shift
Pharmacokinetic variabilityLess intrapatient variability than NPH or ultralente, particularly for fasting plasma glucose
Peripheral lipogenesis (relative hepatoselectivity)Albumin binding is proposed to favour hepatic over peripheral action, reducing adipose insulin exposure
Safetyrisks and cautions, not medical advice
insulin has essentially no therapeutic margin, a dosing error kills within hours through hypoglycaemia, and a pen device shipped through a grey market has no verifiable cold chain
Subjective profileweighing the evidence above
Of everything the site declines to source, insulin needs the least argument: the therapeutic margin is essentially zero and a dosing error kills within hours. Detemir itself is a good drug, flatter and steadier than isophane because albumin binding buffers it, and none of that is the objection. The objection is that a pen bought through a grey market has no verifiable cold chain, and a basal insulin that has lost potency fails quietly until it does not.
Where to buy
Suppliers
Vendors carrying Insulin Detemir, with live product details and codes. Links are affiliate links that support the wiki at no cost to you.
RUPharma🌐
Insulin Detemir
Research
- 2003first citedInsulin detemir. Novo Nordisk.
- 2011meta-analysisInsulin detemir versus insulin glargine for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- 2023most recentInsulin degludec versus insulin detemir, both in combination with insulin aspart, in the treatm…
- 1.Insulin detemir in the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- 2.[Insulin detemir (Levemir)].
- 3.Insulin detemir--a new basal insulin analog.
- 4.Insulin detemir. Novo Nordisk.
- 5.Insulin detemir versus insulin glargine for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- 6.Insulin degludec versus insulin detemir, both in combination with insulin aspart, in the treatment of pregnant women with type 1 diabetes (EXPECT): an open-label, multinational, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial.
6 listed here; entry last updated August 2026
Reviews
My notesprivate to this device
Notes and cautions
- Hypoglycaemia is the dose-limiting adverse effect of every insulin; detemir's specific advantage is a lower rate of nocturnal, not overall, hypoglycaemia versus NPH [1].
- Detemir must not be diluted, mixed with other insulins, given intravenously or used in a pump; concomitant thiazolidinediones can cause dose-related fluid retention and heart failure, and any insulin can produce clinically significant hypokalaemia.
- It is not interchangeable unit-for-unit with other basal insulins, since a substantial minority need twice-daily dosing at a higher total dose to match glargine [5].