Sanofi has licensed global rights to MannKind’s rapid-acting inhaled insulin Afrezza® (insulin human), which was approved by the US FDA in June 2014 for the treatment of diabetes mellitus at the third attempt. The drug will diversify Sanofi’s diabetes portfolio ahead of the 2015 patent expiry of its long-acting basal insulin analogue Lantus® (insulin glargine), which leads the diabetes market with sales of more than US$7 B in 2013. Considerable uncertainty surrounds the commercial potential of Afrezza, however.