How long can Toujeo stay out of the refrigerator?

• Toujeo can stay out of the refrigerator for up to 56 days (8 weeks) according to the prescribing information written on 03/2023.
• If Toujeo if left out the refrigerator for more than 20 or 30 minutes, it should not be put back into the refrigerator.
• If Toujeo is not used within 56 days of being out of the refrigerator, it should be discarded.

Toujeo is a long-acting form of man-made insulin (insulin glargine) that may be used for the treatment of high blood sugar levels in adults and children 6 years and older with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

A Toujeo prefilled pen (Toujeo Solostar or Toujeo Max Solostar) may be left unrefrigerated for a maximum of 56 days (8 weeks), as long as it is kept at room temperature (less than 86°F [30°C]) and not exposed to light or a heat source. Some package inserts may say that Toujeo needs to be discarded after 42 days; however, this is not what the current prescribing information says.

When left unrefrigerated, the pen should be stored with the cap on to prevent the degradation of the insulin.

Once Toujeo has been left out of the refrigerator for more than 20 or 30 minutes, it should not be put back into the refrigerator.

If a Toujeo pen is not used within 56 days after being taken out of the fridge, throw it away in an approved sharps container.

How is Toujeo stored?

Toujeo should be kept refrigerated at between 36°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C) until it needs to be administered or until its expiry date, whatever comes first.

Allow Toujeo at least 30 minutes to warm up to room temperature after taking it out of the refrigerator to make receiving the injection much more pleasant. The best way to warm it up is to leave it sitting on a bench. A microwave oven, boiling water, or a stove should never be used because this may ruin the medicine. You could also place the injection between your hands to warm up to speed the process up.

Related questions

• How and where should I inject insulin?
• When is the best time to take Toujeo?
• What are the different types of insulin?

How does Toujeo work?

Toujeo contains insulin glargine which is a long-acting, manmade form of human insulin.

To make insulin glargine, scientists have genetically modified a bacterium called Escherichia coli to produce insulin that is very similar to human insulin. To make it longer acting, the amino at position 21 of the A-chain (asparagine) has been replaced with glycine and two arginines have been added to the C-terminus of the B-chain. Insulin glargine may also be called an insulin analog because it is a modified version of human insulin.

Toujeo works by replacing the insulin that is normally produced by the body. The main role of insulin is to allow cells throughout the body to uptake glucose (sugar) and convert it into a form that can be used by these cells for energy. Without insulin, we cannot survive, and death from diabetes was a common occurrence until insulin was discovered in the early 1900s by Frederick Banting and Charles Best.