At the request of the Regulatory Affairs Manager at Generex, I am posting the following to defend the accuracy of the packaging and the claim of the product. The initial blog addressed a product called Glucose RapidSpray. The reader feedback, as well as the regulatory affairs response, is listed below. In no way, does Generex imply this product is to be used to treat hypoglycemia.
The comment to the original post stated:
The nutritional label on the product (available as a PDF on their web site) says the product has 188mg of carbs (or .188g) per serving (5 sprays). A typical glucose tablet has 4g... that's about 21x more carbs in a single glucose tablet than in 5 sprays of RapidSpray. Considering you typically use at least 15g of carbs to treat hypoglycemia, you would need around 80 sprays to get 15g of carbs into your system! When you take into account the amount of sprays you need, the calorie count isn't very much different from glucose tablets.
Read the label carefully, and be very careful using this!
The response from the Manager of Generex Regulatory Affairs states:
The product, Glucose RapidSpray™, is to be taken at the first sign of needing additional glucose in the diet, either between meals, during exercise, and/or before bedtime. It is not intended to take people out of full hypoglycemic states that normally a full tube of glucose gel or a full dose of Glucose tablets would be needed for. Glucose RapidSpray™ product is meant to be a complement to meals in order to help with glucose levels. As such, a direct correlation of carbs associated with Glucose RapidSpray™ and typical glucose tablets or gel is not warranted based on the intended use of the product. If usage of the product is maintained by taking Glucose RapidSpray™ at the first sign of needing additional glucose, then the Nutritional Facts stated on the package labeling is adequate for determining caloric intake (be it 5 sprays, 10 sprays, 15 sprays or whatever is taken to address the situation).
I consider the proactive response of Generex a good sign of how a company is run. Without needing to do so, Generex went above and beyond the call to address an open forum about the efficacy and accuracy of the product. This is the kind of interaction that convinces me a company cares! Good job, Generex! Lest I NOT hold my breath for Eli Lilly to return my call about Super Insulin. Novo Nordisk was far more receptive to address my interests, as a diabetic. Stay tuned for my follow-up on the Eli Lilly vs. Novo Nordisk – Who Love You, Baby!?!
1. I wrote the original response to the comment and am still concerned about the labeling of the product. A press release on the Generex website from August 10, 2006 states:
"We expect that Glucose RapidSpray will appeal to people battling the symptoms of low blood sugar who now use other over-the-counter glucose products but want a faster-acting product. We expect to position Glucose RapidSpray as a companion product to Generex Oral-lyn™, our proprietary oral insulin spray product, in the diabetes management field."
"Symptoms of low blood sugar" implies hypoglycemia, and they specifcally mention glucose tablets and gels:
"Glucose RapidSpray is simple to carry and use, with no large tablets to chew or messy gels to swallow."
It sounds like they are marketing it as working faster and having a lower calorie count than glucose tablets. Why would they suggest that glucose tablets are large and gels are messy if not to offer their product as a replacement?
The low calorie claim comes from recommending an absurdly low serving size (less than 1/5 of 1 gram of carbohydrate), which is unlikely to have any noticeable effect on a user's glucose level. If you increase the serving size to a quantity that could reasonably aid you in combating the "symptoms of low blood sugar", the calorie count does not differ significantly from that of glucose tablet.
The text of the press release is available at http://www.generex.com/news-management/templates/press.asp?articleid=287&zoneid=2
I have yet to see this in a pharmacy, but especially if Glucose RapidSpray is being displayed alongside glucose tablets and gels, I think the labeling and marketing of the product is dangerous. If Generex doesn't intend RapidSpray to be used to treat hypoglycemia, there should be an easily identifiable warning on the packaging indicating as much.
Posted at 5:22PM on Mar 13th 2007 by Ismael