New labels warn against sharing multi-dose insulin pens

In an effort to reduce the risk of infection spread, the FDA recently required additional label warnings about sharing of multi-dose diabetes pen devices, which are intended for single patient use only.

Insulin pens and pens for other injectable diabetes medicines should never be shared among patients, even if the needle is changed, the FDA said. The agency is now requiring that pens and packaging containing multiple doses of insulin and other injectable diabetes medicines display a warning label stating “For single patient use only.”

Although no confirmed cases of actual infection transmission have been reported, thousands of patients have possibly been exposed to infections from the sharing of multi-dose pen devices since 2008, according to the FDA drug safety communication.