The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Onswik, a once-weekly insulin shot for adults with type 2 diabetes. The approval, announced this week, gives patients a second once-weekly option after Awiqli cleared the agency in March.

Onswik is designed to keep insulin levels steady over seven days, replacing 365 daily shots a year with 52 weekly ones. It is meant to be used along with diet and exercise to control blood sugar.

The approval rests on four late-stage trials of more than 3,400 adults, according to Eli Lilly. In each study, the weekly shot lowered blood sugar about as well as daily basal insulins, not better.

Onswik is not approved for type 1 diabetes. Lilly says use in those patients could raise the risk of severe low blood sugar. The shot will be sold as a prefilled KwikPen in two concentrations.

Lilly plans a US launch in the coming months. It is the company's fourth global approval for the drug after the EU, Mexico and Japan.