Insulin glargine half-life
Insulin glargine has an elimination half-life of about 12 h (range 12–19 h). Use the free calculator to plot how Insulin glargine levels rise and decay across your own doses.
Open Insulin glargine in the calculator
Reference data
- Half-life
- 12 h (range 12–19 h)
- Route
- SC daily
- Category
- Insulins
- Evidence
- Clinical
- Also known as
- Lantus, Toujeo, Basaglar, Semglee
Absorption-limited; flat profile lasting about 24 hours.
How much Insulin glargine remains over time
For a single dose with first-order elimination, half of what remains is cleared every 12 h.
| Half-lives | Time after dose | Remaining | Eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 h | 50% | 50% |
| 2 | 24 h | 25% | 75% |
| 3 | 36 h | 12.5% | 87.5% |
| 4 | 2 days | 6.25% | 93.75% |
| 5 | 2.5 days | 3.13% | 96.88% |
Insulin glargine FAQ
What is the half-life of Insulin glargine?
Insulin glargine has an elimination half-life of about 12 h (range 12–19 h) (SC daily). Absorption-limited; flat profile lasting about 24 hours.
How long does Insulin glargine stay in your system?
With first-order elimination, about 97% of a single dose is cleared after five half-lives, roughly 2.5 days for Insulin glargine. Individual clearance varies with dose, injection site, kidney function and other factors.
How long until Insulin glargine reaches steady state?
With consistent repeated dosing, levels approach steady state after about 4 to 5 half-lives, or roughly 2 days to 2.5 days for Insulin glargine.
How reliable is this Insulin glargine half-life?
Evidence level: Clinical. Based on a regulatory label or well-replicated human pharmacokinetic data.