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 lispro brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) Image References AdmelogSanofiVial, pen HumalogLillyVial, cartridge, pen LiprologLillyVial, cartridge pen LyumjevLillyVial, pen
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 aspart brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) Image References FiaspNovo NordiskVial, cartridge, pen Novolog/NovorapidNovo NordiskVial, cartridge, pen TrurapiSanofiVial, cartridge, penKirstyViatrisPenMerilogSanofiPen
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. | via Google Patents
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. +Inhalable insulin brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) References AfrezzaMannkindInhaler Exubera†PfizerInhaler
Short-acting
Regular insulin
Regular insulin, also known as neutral insulin or soluble insulin, is a type of short-acting medical insulin. It is used to treat type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic states. It is also used with glucose to treat high blood potassium levels. Typically administered by injection under the skin, it can also be injected into a vein or muscle. Its effects usually begin within one hour and last around four hours.
The most common side effect is low blood sugar. Other side effects may include pain or skin changes at the injection sites, low blood potassium, and allergic reactions. It is relatively safe to use during pregnancy for the baby. Regular insulin can be derived from the pancreas of pigs or cows, with human versions created by modifying pig insulin or using recombinant technology.
Insulin was first used as a medication in Canada by Charles Best and Frederick Banting in 1922. It is listed on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.WHO Model List of Essential Medicines - 22nd list, 2021 Retrieved 31 March 2025, World Health Organization 2021 In 2017, it ranked as the 209th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with over 2 million prescriptions. There are also versions available that are mixed with longer-acting insulin, such as NPH insulin. In 2020, the combination of human insulin and insulin isophane was the 246th most commonly prescribed medication in the US, with more than 2 million prescriptions.
Regular insulin is commonly sold under the name of an insulin product line followed by the letter R. +Regular insulin brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) Image References Humulin RLilyVial, pen Novolin RNovo NordiskVialMyxredlinBaxterIV bagsInsuman R†SanofiVial, penRonulin RRonakVialLupisulin RLupinVial, cartridge ActrapidNovo NordiskVial, cartridge, penInsugen RBioconVial, cartridgeMonotard†Novo NordiskVialDipisulin RDarou PakhshVialHuminsulin RLupinVialHuman InsulongGlenmarkVialUnivia RPfizerVialWosulin RWockhardtVialJusline RJulpharVialGensulin RBiotonCartridgeSciLin RSciGenVial, cartridge
Semilente insulin Semilente insulin was an insulin from the lente family of insulin that was derived from pork. It had smaller crystals than untralente, so it was absorbed faster, and therefore had a shorter duration of action which was similar to that of regular insulin. Like the other lente insulins, it was phased out in the early 2000s. It was produced by Lilly under the name Semilente Iletin I.
Buffered regular insulin
Buffered regular insulin is a variation of regular insulin that is specifically formulated for use only in insulin pumps. +Buffered regular insulin brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) References Humulin BR†LillyVial Velosulin BR†Novo NordiskVial
Intermediate-acting
NPH insulin NPH insulin, also known as isophane insulin, is an intermediate-acting insulin used to manage blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes. The name NPH is an abbreviation for "neutral protamine Hagedorn", referring to neutral pH (pH = 7), protamine a protein attached to the insulin molecule, and Hans Christian Hagedorn, the insulin researcher who developed this formulation. It was designed to enhance insulin delivery and is one of the early examples of engineered drug delivery.
It is typically administered through subcutaneous injection once or twice daily. Its effects usually begin within an hour and last for 24 hours. There are versions available that are premixed with short-acting insulins, such as regular insulin. The most common side effect is low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Other potential side effects may include pain or skin changes at the injection sites, low blood potassium, and allergic reactions. It is generally considered safe for use during pregnancy for the fetus. NPH insulin is produced by mixing regular insulin and protamine in precise proportions with zinc and phenol to maintain a neutral pH and form crystals. There are versions based on human and pig insulin.
Protamine insulin was first created in 1936, and NPH insulin was introduced in 1946. It is included in the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines In 2020, insulin isophane was the 221st most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 2 million prescriptions.
NPH insulin is commonly sold under the name of an insulin product line followed by the letter N.
+NPH insulin brands Brand Name Manufacturer Preparation method(s) Image References Novolin NNovo NordiskVial, pen Humulin NLillyVial, pen InsulatardNovo NordiskVial, penMarch 2020 Insulatard Patient leaflet, from Novo Nordisk (accessed February 23, 2025) Insuman Basal†SanofiVial, pen ActraphaneNovo NordiskVial, penRonulin NRonakVialLupisulin NLupinVial, CartridgeInsugen NBioconVial, CartridgeInsugen NPH facsheet, Biocon, December 2019Dipusulin NDarou PakhshVialHuminsulin NLupinVialHumanext NCadilaVialWosulin NWockhardtVialLentardNovo NordiskVialJusline NJulpharVialGensulin NBiotonCartridgeSciLin NSciGenVial, cartridgeProtaphaneNovo NordiskVial
Lente insulin
Lente insulin (derived from the Italian word lento, meaning "slow"), also known as insulin zinc suspension, was an intermediate-acting insulin that is no longer used in humans. Its effects begin one to two hours after administration, with peak activity occurring approximately 8 to 12 hours post-injection, and some residual effects lasting beyond 24 hours.