The companies were previously in a worldwide alliance to co-develop, co-promote and co-manufacture Exubera.
Exubera is a fast-acting dry powder formulation of human insulin which is under regulatory review in the US and Europe for the treatment of adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The product of a developmental collaboration between Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis and Nektar Therapeutics, the drug represents an innovation in insulin delivery, and would be the first non-injectable option introduced since the discovery of insulin in the 1920s.
According to the World Health Organization, diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. Approximately 194 million people worldwide have the disease, and it is estimated that the number of people with diabetes will more than double by 2030. The direct healthcare costs may be as much as $286 billion worldwide.
“As diabetes reaches epidemic levels worldwide, new treatment options such as Exubera – the first inhalable, non-injectable insulin medicine – have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people with diabetes,” said Hank McKinnell, Pfizer chairman and CEO. “We sought the Sanofi-Aventis rights to Exubera based on the strong addition it would represent to our portfolio of innovative medicines.”