Results of a trial reveal that a once-daily shot of Sanofi-Aventis’s insulin drug Lantus appears to control blood sugar levels just as well as Eli Lilly’s Humalog, administered three times a day.

“We conclude that (Lantus) provides a simple and effective option that is more satisfactory to patients than is (Humalog) for early initiation if insulin therapy,” Reinhard Bretzel of Justus-Liebig-Universitat in Germany and colleagues wrote in their study, according to Reuters.

The trial involved more than 400 men and women from Europe and Australia with type 2 diabetes that was poorly controlled by oral medication. The subjects were randomly assigned to receive either Lantus or Humalog. The trial lasted 44 weeks.

Lantus reduced blood sugar levels to 7 percent from 8.7 percent while the average Humalog decrease was to 6.8 percent from 8.7 percent, the study found. Maintaining strict blood sugar control (concentrations of less than 7) is critical to avoid the complications of diabetes, which include blindness, kidney failure and even amputations.

"This study just confirms that insulin is effective and there are good reasons to use insulin if oral agents are not working. It's certainly not that one is good and one is bad,” said Dr. Sue Kirkman, vice president of clinical affairs at the American Diabetes Association.

Moreover, the participants in the trial were more satisfied with just one shot per day instead of three. “Study participants taking (Lantus) reported greater overall treatment satisfaction, with specific improvements in convenience of treatment,” the researchers wrote.

The results are published in the March 29 edition of The Lancet.