CRAWLEY, England, January 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A 2010 GOOD DESIGN(TM) Award[1] has been awarded to Novo Nordisk for NovoPen Echo(R), the latest innovation in pen development - designed specifically with the needs of children in mind. Judging is made based on product design which is new, visionary and innovative and that may enrich people's lives.

More than 400,000 children are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes worldwide[2] and these children may need to inject themselves multiple times a day. The device they use for daily injections becomes an integral part of their everyday life. Novo Nordisk has recognised that children have different needs and thus developed a pen specifically for them.

Ramin Elahi, chief designer at Novo Nordisk, comments on the development process. "We spoke to children and their parents to establish what features of current pens could be improved. We identified the need to develop a pen which combined small dosing capability, a simple memory function and a design made to fit children's smaller hands. NovoPen Echo(R) is the result and is currently the only pen which combines all of these functionalities in one device."

NovoPen Echo(R) allows patients to inject insulin doses as low as 0.5 units, which is beneficial in children with low insulin requirements who require very small doses. In addition, a simple memory function has been added which records the dose and time since last injection.

"The pen is easy for children to use and the memory function will be very important," says Dr Birthe Olsen, Chief Physician, Department of Paediatrics at Glostrup Hospital. "Parents will get reassurance that their child has taken their insulin at school - helping to give them independence at a younger age."

NovoPen Echo(R) is the latest insulin pen from Novo Nordisk to win the GOOD DESIGN(TM) Award[1]. NovoPen(R) 4, a pen designed for adults also received the award in 2005.

NovoPen Echo(R) has currently been launched in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Israel.