Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (NVO -0.29%) announced last week that its diabetes-fighting insulin drug Ryzodeg has been approved for sale in Japan by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare.
Ryzodeg is a combination of long-acting insulin agent Tresiba and fast-acting insulin agent NovoRapid -- marketed in the U.S. under the name NovoLog. Nordisk still waits upon FDA approval for Tresiba in the United States. An FDA advisory committee gave a positive opinion of the drug back in November, but it also unanimously voted to advise that Novo Nordisk be required to carry out a study on cardiovascular effects of the drug.
Novo, which some industry observers say could market Tresiba as a potent competitor to Sanofi's (SNY 5.90%) blockbuster insulin drug Lantus, has said such a study would cost in excess of $250 million.
