biology

List of commercially available insulins

List of commercially available insulins is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of commercially available insulins rather than just read about it. In short: Insulin as a medication is sold under many different trade names, which are listed below. A dagger symbol (†) indicates discontinued brands.

Key takeaways

List of commercially available insulins belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of commercially available insulins to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of commercially available insulins from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Insulin as a medication is sold under many different trade names, which are listed below. A dagger symbol (†) indicates discontinued brands. Different brands of insulin may offer any of the following preparation methods: vials, pens, cartridges, IV bags or inhalers. All insulin analogues and non-analogue insulins work by enhancing glucose uptake in tissues and reducing glucose production by the liver. Insulin is prescribed for conditions such as type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and diabetes-related complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis. Additionally, insulin is administered alongside glucose to treat elevated blood potassium levels (hyperkalemia). While all types are commonly referred to as insulin, the term in its strictest sense applies to the naturally occurring molecule, whereas insulin analogues have modified structures to alter their pharmacokinetics. Certain insulin brands can also have differing names regionally, such as how Novolog is called Novorapid outside of the United States. Brands may also be commonly referred to with different names. For example, Basaglar, Abasaglar, and Abasria all refer to the same brand. Abasria is the brand's former name, while Basaglar and Abasaglar are regional. The three companies which produce the most insulin are Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. These corporations control 99% of the global market by value and 96% by volume. However, other smaller pharmaceutical companies also produce insulin, such as Mannkind (Afrezza), Viatris (Semglee), Lupin (Lupisulin), Baxter (Myxredlin), Biocon (Basalog), Darou Pakhsh (Dipisulin), Glenmark (Insulong), Wockhardt (Wosulin), Julphar (Jusline), SciGen (SciLin), Bioton (Gensulin), and Cadila (Humanext). Many insulin analogues are available unbranded.

Rapid-acting

Insulin lispro Insulin lispro, marketed under the brand name Humalog among others, is a modified form of medical insulin used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is administered subcutaneously through injection or an insulin pump. The effects typically begin within 30 minutes and last for about 5 hours. Sometimes, a longer-acting insulin, such as insulin NPH, is also used. Common side effects include low blood sugar, while more serious side effects may include low blood potassium. It is generally considered safe for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It functions similarly to human insulin by increasing glucose uptake in tissues and reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver in gluconeogenesis. Insulin lispro was first approved for use in the United States in 1996. It is a synthetic analogue of human insulin, created by swapping two amino acids. In 2022, it ranked as the 70th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with over 9 million prescriptions. Insulin lispro is available under a generic label from Lilly.

Insulin aspart

Insulin aspart, marketed under the brand name Novolog among others, is a modified type of medical insulin used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It is typically administered by injection under the skin (into the abdomen, buttocks, thighs, or upper arms), but can also be injected into a vein. Its maximum effect occurs after about 1–3 hours and lasts for 3–5 hours. A biosimilar version of insulin aspart, insulin-aspart-szjj, was released in 2025. Common side effects include low blood sugar, allergic reactions, itchiness, and pain at the injection site. Serious side effects may include low blood potassium. It is generally considered safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It works similarly to human insulin by enhancing glucose uptake in tissues and reducing glucose production by the liver. It is a synthetic form of human insulin, with a single amino acid change, replacing proline with aspartic acid at the B28 position. Insulin aspart was approved for medical use in the United States in 2000. In 2022, it was the 76th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with over 8 million prescriptions. Its production involves yeast that have had the gene for insulin aspart inserted into their genome, allowing the yeast to produce the insulin, which is then harvested from the bioreactor. Insulin aspart is available unbranded from Novo Nordisk.

Insulin glulisine

Insulin glulisine is a rapid-acting modified form of insulin used to treat diabetes. It differs from human insulin by replacing the amino acid asparagine at position B3 with lysine and the lysine at position B29 with glutamic acid. When injected subcutaneously, it enters the bloodstream faster than regular human insulin (RHI). It was developed by Sanofi. The most common side effect is hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels). Insulin glulisine was approved for medical use in the United States and the European Union in 2004. It is currently patented by Sanofi, and is therefore only produced by said company under the brand name Apidra.

Inhalable insulin Inhalable insulin, also known as technosphere insulin, is a powdered form of insulin, delivered with an inhaler into the lungs where it is absorbed. In general, inhaled insulins have been more rapidly absorbed than subcutaneous injected insulin, with faster peak concentration in serum and more rapid metabolism. Exubera, developed by Inhale Therapeutics (later named Nektar Therapeutics), became the first inhaled insulin product to be marketed, in 2006 by Pfizer, but poor sales led Pfizer to withdraw it in 2007. Afrezza, a monomeric inhaled, ultra rapid-acting insulin developed by Mannkind, was approved by the FDA in 2014 and is the only inhaled insulin commercialized as of 2025.

Short-acting

Regular insulin

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of commercially available insulins

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of commercially available insulins claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of commercially available insulins before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of commercially available insulins ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of commercially available insulins

In research: List of commercially available insulins appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of commercially available insulins in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of commercially available insulins is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drug-related lists, Human proteins, Insulin receptor agonists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of commercially available insulins outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of commercially available insulins in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of commercially available insulins means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is List of commercially available insulins in simple terms?

Insulin as a medication is sold under many different trade names, which are listed below. A dagger symbol (†) indicates discontinued brands.

Why does List of commercially available insulins matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of commercially available insulins?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of commercially available insulins.