Sanofi's logo
French drugs firm Sanofi's logo is pictured inside the company's headquarters REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Sanofi has won approval from United States health regulators for its diabetes treatment Toujeo. The drug is a successor to the French drugmaker’s top selling product Lantus, which loses patent protection in 2015, Bloomberg reports. The Food and Drug Administration cleared Toujeo, a long acting form of insulin to control blood sugar. The drug is meant for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. It is expected to be available in April.

Studies have shown that patients taking Toujeo have fewer drops in blood sugar while they are asleep than those taking Lantus. This, Sanofi hopes, will convince patients to switch to the new drug. Toujeo is expected to bring in sales of about $1 billion by 2018. It is one of six treatments from Sanofi slated for regulatory approval in 2015. Lantus generated revenue of 6.4 billion euros or $7.3 billion in 2014. It lost patent protection in the U.S. in 2015 and will lose exclusive rights in Europe in May 2015. Eli Lilli & Co has said it is ready to introduce the drug in Europe in May 2015. Sanofi will price Toujeo at par with Lantus in an attempt to get patients to switch to the new drug. Lantus costs $24.85 per milliliter and is administered in an injection pen. The dose is individualized to the patient depending on type of diabetes and whether they’ve had insulin previously.

Toujeo is considered among the most important drugs in Sanofi’s pipeline. Toujeo has the same active ingredient as Lantus, called insulin glargine, but at three times the concentration and it is designed to release the insulin more gradually. The medicine provides similar blood glucose control as Lantus, but is more effective in treating hypoglycemia. Lantus, the world's most prescribed insulin with sales of $7.2 billion in 2014, accounts for more than 30 percent of Sanofi profit. Warnings of faltering U.S. Lantus sales contributed to the sudden sacking of Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher in 2014, according to Reuters.

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