The FDA has approved Semglee (Mylan), an insulin glargine product similar to Lantus, for treatment of type 1 diabetes in children and adults and type 2 diabetes in adults. Semglee is the second "follow-on" insulin glargine product to become available in the US; Basaglar, which is also similar to Lantus, was the first. Lantus is a recombinant analog of human insulin that forms microprecipitates in subcutaneous tissue, prolonging its duration of action to a mean of about 24 hours with no pronounced peak effect.

View the Comparison Chart: Some Available Insulins for Type 2 Diabetes

The FDA has approved Fiasp (Novo Nordisk), a new formulation of insulin aspart, to improve glycemic control in adults with diabetes. Fiasp is described by the manufacturer as faster-acting than conventional insulin aspart (Novolog).

Two new injectable GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists, dulaglutide (Trulicity [trū li si tee] – Lilly) and albiglutide (Tanzeum [tan' zee um] – GSK), have been approved by the FDA for once-weekly treatment of type 2 diabetes. Other available GLP-1 receptor agonists include exenatide, which is approved for injection twice daily (Byetta) or once weekly (Bydureon), and liraglutide (Victoza), which is injected once daily.

The FDA has approved Basaglar (Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim), a "follow-on" 100 units/mL insulin glargine product similar to Lantus (Sanofi), which recently went off patent. A 300 units/mL formulation of insulin glargine (Toujeo) was approved in 2015.