An insulin pill that will save millions of people with diabetes having to administer daily jabs is a major step closer to reality.

Around 420 million people worldwide have diabetes and 3.7 million deaths are attributed to the disease each year, World Health Organisation figures show.

There are two types of the disease, which is caused by high levels of sugar circulating in the blood, causing organ damage which can be fatal.

Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder normally diagnosed in childhood, while type 2 normally diagnosed later in life - and largely associated with being overweight and inactive.

An insulin pill that will spare millions of people with diabetes the pain of insulin injections is being developed by Niagara University scientists (file photo)

Everyone with type 1 diabetes has to inject themselves with insulin daily.

For those with type 2 diabetes, lifestyle changes and drugs may initially help lower blood sugar levels, but if the disease progresses some patients also have to inject themselves with insulin.

The daily injections can be invasive - but now, scientists believe they may have discovered a less painful way of administering the hormone.

They are developing a new way of delivering the medicine orally using tiny vesicles that can deliver insulin where it needs to go, without a jab.

These new vesicles are made of naturally occurring lipid molecules, which are normal building blocks of fats.

The lead author, Professor Mary McCourt, of Niagara University, New York state, said: 'We have developed a new technology called a Cholestosome.

'A Cholestosome is a neutral, lipid-based particle that is capable of doing some very interesting things.'

She said the the biggest hurdle to delivering insulin orally is ushering it through the stomach intact.

Proteins such as insulin are no match for the highly acidic environment of the stomach.

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They degrade before they get a chance to move into the intestines and the bloodstream - where they are needed to lower blood glucose levels.

One approach to overcoming the problem is to package insulin inside a protective coating to shield the protein from stomach acids.

It is currently being tested in clinical trials.

Another company developed and marketed inhalable insulin, but despite positive reviews from some patients, it did not take off.

Professor McCourt's team have developed a new approach.

Using the patented Cholestosomes developed in the lab, the researchers have successfully encapsulated insulin in a coating made of fat, which protects it so it can get through the digestive system into the bloodstream.

The new vesicles are made of naturally occurring lipid molecules, which are normal building blocks of fats.

They are unlike other lipid-based drug carriers, called liposomes, researchers said.

Dr Lawrence Mielnicki, of Niagara University, said: 'Most liposomes need to be packaged in a polymer coating for protection.

'Here, we're just using simple lipid esters to make vesicles with the drug molecules inside.'

Computer modelling showed that once the lipids are assembled into spheres, they form neutral particles resistant to attack from stomach acids.

Drugs can be loaded inside, and the tiny packages can pass through the stomach without degrading.

When Cholestosomes reach the intestines, the body recognises them as something to be absorbed.

Scientists have developed a way to coat an insulin pill in fat so it is able to travel through the digestive system and enter into the blood, without the need for a jab (file photo)

The vesicles pass through the intestines, into the bloodstream, and then cells take them in and break them apart, releasing insulin.

The researchers also determined the optimal aciditity of the solution inside the vesicles so they could pack the largest amount of insulin into the Cholestosomes.

They then tested the most promising vesicles on to animal testing.

Studies with rats showed that certain formulations of Cholestosomes loaded with insulin have high 'bioavailability' - which means the vesicles travel into the bloodstream where the insulin needs to be.

Now the researchers plan to further optimise the formulations, conduct more animal testing and develop new partnerships to move into human trials.