The drug, which will be marketed as Exubera, is made by Pfizer, Inc. It is the first new way to take insulin since the 1920s. The drug was developed in a joint agreement between Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics. The drug giant said it will be available to patients later this year.
The FDA said, however, the using the inhalable version would not stop patients from needing to inject the insulin hormone periodically. They will also have to continue to prick themselves for samples to test the level of sugar in their bloodstream.
Pfizer paid Sanofi-Aventis $1.3 billion for worldwide rights to the drug, which can treat Type 1 and 2 adult diabetes, according to the Associated Press.
"It is our hope that the availability of inhaled insulin will offer patients more options to better control their blood sugars," Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told reporters Friday.
According to the American Diabetes Association, five of the 21 million people infected with diabetes have take insulin injections.
