The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just approved a new type 2 diabetes drug, according to a statement from the health agency.

Tanzeum is to be used along with diet and exercise modifications to help control type 2 diabetes and is to be injected once every week.

Type 2 diabetes affects around 24 million people throughout the country, and accounts for more than 90 percent of the diabetes cases that are diagnosed in the U.S.

If left untreated, high blood sugar levels can raise the risk of developing serious complications, such as heart disease, blindness, and nerve and kidney damage.

Dr. Curtis Rosebraugh, M.P.H., director of the Office of Drug Evaluation II in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in the official FDA press release, “Tanzeum is a new treatment option for the millions of Americans living with type 2 diabetes.” He continued to explain that, “It can be used alone or added to existing treatment regimens to control blood sugar levels in the overall management of diabetes.”

According to the FDA, Tanzeum “is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, a hormone that helps normalize blood sugar levels.”

The safety and effectiveness of the drug was evaluated in eight different clinical trials that studied more than 2,000 patients who had type 2 diabetes.

According to study results, patients who took part in the trials showed an improvement in their HbA1c level (hemoglobin A1c or glycosylated hemoglobin, a measure of blood sugar control).

Tanzeum has been studied for use as a stand-alone drug as well as in conjunction with other existing type 2 diabetes therapies, including metformin and insulin. Tanzeum is not for use in people with Type 1 diabetes.