Novo Nordisk gets welcome drug approval in China

Danish diabetes care giant Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) today announced that the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) has approved Tresiba(insulin degludec) for the treatment of diabetes in China, which it said has the world's highest number of adult diabetes patients.

Tresiba is a new-generation, once-daily basal insulin with an ultra-long duration of action which allows for flexibility in day-to-day dosing, and is expected to launch in China in the first quarter of 2018, Novo Nordisk said.

Tresibaprovides significantly lower risk of overall, severe and nocturnal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and comparable reductions of blood sugar levels vs. insulin glargine U100 in people with diabetes. Studies have also shown that Tresiba provides significantly lower variability in blood sugar levels compared to insulin glargine U100 and U300.