Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, has  received approval of the price of Tresiba (insulin degludec), the new once-daily basal insulin for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, from Japan’s Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo), the advisory committee to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The price approval allows Novo Nordisk to commercially launch in Japan shortly after Tresiba is officially posted on Japan’s National Health Insurance price list 22 February.

Tresiba is a new once-daily basal insulin, which has been discovered and developed by Novo Nordisk. The global clinical programme supporting the new drug application for Tresiba involved close to 10,000 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In the ‘treat-to-target’ studies, where Tresiba was compared to insulin glargine, Tresiba successfully achieved equivalent reductions in HbA1c and was associated with significantly lower risk of night-time hypoglycaemia.

In Japan, Tresiba will be available in FlexTouch, Novo Nordisk’s latest prefilled insulin pen with an easy push-button. Tresiba is also available in Penfill, designed to be used with Novo Nordisk’s insulin delivery systems.

Tresiba is the global brand name for insulin degludec, a new once-daily basal insulin with an ultra-long duration of action3, discovered and developed by Novo Nordisk. Tresiba has a distinct, slow absorption which provides a flat and stable action profile4. Tresiba has been studied in a large-scale clinical trial programme, BEGIN, examining its impact on glucose control, hypoglycaemia and the possibility to flexibly adjust Tresiba dosing time to suit patient needs. The regulatory process for Tresiba continues to progress in the major markets. In addition to Japan, Tresiba has been approved for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Europe and Mexico.