Table 1.

Profiles and medicinal forms of some common insulins used in the UK

Human synthetic insulin
Short acting	Absorbed quickly and lasts for several hours Onset 30–45 minutes, peak 2–4 hours and duration up to 6 hours Eg Humulin S, Humulin R and Actrapid
Intermediate acting / isophane	Absorbed slowly and lasts for up to 24 hours Onset 1–2 hours, peak 4–8 hours and duration 16–18 hours Eg Insulatard, Humulin I and Insuman Basal
Fixed mixtures / pre-mixed	Mixture of short- and intermediate-acting insulin (biphasic human insulin) Onset 30–45 minutes, peak 2–4 hours and duration 14–16 hours Eg Humulin M3, Insuman Comb 15 and Insuman Comb 50
Analogue insulin
Rapid acting	Absorbed more rapidly and with shorter duration than the short-acting insulin Onset 10–20 minutes, peak 1–3 hours and duration 3–5 hours Eg NovoRapid (aspart), Humalog (lispro) and Apidra (glulisine)
Ultra-rapid acting	More rapid than rapid-acting insulin Onset 4 minutes Eg Fiasp (aspart)
Long acting	Absorbed slower than intermediate insulin providing a flatter profile Onset 1–2 hours, no peak and duration up to 24 hours Eg Levemir (detemir), Lantus (glargine), and Abasaglar and Semglee (glargine biosimilars)
Ultra-long acting	Absorbed slower than intermediate insulin providing a flatter profile Onset 1–2 hours, no peak and duration 36–42 hours Eg Tresiba (degludec), Toujeo (glargine 300 units/mL)
Fixed mixtures / pre-mixed	Mixture of rapid- and intermediate-acting insulin Onset 15 minutes, peak 50–90 minutes and duration 14–16 hours eg NovoMix 30, Humalog Mix 25 and Humalog Mix 50