Eli Lilly and Co and Boehringer Ingelheim said on Wednesday that the European Commission approved their copycat version of Sanofi SA's blockbuster insulin, Lantus.
The treatment, to be manufactured by Lilly, comprises a type of basal insulin, intended to provide long-lasting blood sugar control between meals and at night, Reuters reported.
The therapy received a positive recommendation from the European Medicine Agency in June.
The approval is for a so-called biosimilar version of Lantus, which generates annual sales of about $8 billion. Biosimilar medicines are copies of biotech drugs that promise to cut the cost of treatment.
Lantus currently dominates the market, out-selling a rival treatment Levemir from Denmark's Novo Nordisk.
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