Pfizer has reached an agreement to acquire the Sanofi-Aventis worldwide rights to inhaled human insulin for $1.3 billion. Pfizer intends to market the drug under the trade name Exubera. The two companies were previously in a worldwide alliance to co-develop, co-promote and co-manufacture Exubera. Also, Pfizer will acquire the insulin production facilities located in Frankfurt, Germany, previously jointly owned by the two companies.

Exubera is a fast-acting dry powder formulation of human insulin and is inhaled into the lungs via the mouth pre-meal through a hand-held inhalation device. Exubera is under regulatory review in the U.S. and Europe for the treatment of adults with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Pfizer plans to make Exubera available to patients as soon as possible following regulatory approvals.