Sales of Inhaled Insulin Exubera Halted

Oct. 18, 2007 -- The drug company Pfizer announced that it will stop selling its inhaled insulin product Exubera for financial reasons.

In January 2006, Exubera became the first inhaled insulin to get FDA approval. Exubera delivers short-acting insulin via an inhaler, providing an alternative to insulin injections.

"Despite our best efforts, Exubera has failed to gain the acceptance of patients and physicians. We have therefore concluded that further investment in this product is unwarranted," Jeff Kindler, Pfizer's chairman and CEO, says in a Pfizer news release.

"We will work with physicians to transition Exubera patients to other treatment options in the next three months," says Kindler.

"We remain committed to investing significant resources in the development of new and innovative medicines to manage diabetes, including monitoring inhalation technologies and other innovative delivery systems for insulin and other medicines," says Kindler.