9/8/05:  Prizer announces that the Food and Drug Administration has Recommended Approval of Exubera

The drug maker Pfizer and the Sanofii-Aventis Group announced that the United States FDA advisory committee panel had finally recommended the approval of Exubera.  If the FDA approves Exubera, it could make $2,000,000 each year in sales.

The co-developers of Exubera are Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis and they say that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Exubera for Type 1 and 2 diabetes in adults.

While insulin is usually taken via an injection, Exubera is taken into the body by inhaling the drug before eating.  The Exubera quickly goes into the blood to that the diabetic doesn't get spikes in their blood sugar.  The FDA panel voted 7 to 2 to approve the drug despite worries about long-term adverse effects on smokers or people with lung disease.  4 out of 5 diabetics would greatly prefer to inhale insulin rather than inject it.  

The Food and Drug Administration doesn't have to approve the panel's approval, but it usually does.  Not since the 1920s has there been a development in insulin technology.

The Exubera Report on Diabetes Inhaler