Diabetics of the world, rejoice.

That daily shot of insulin may soon be a thing of the past.

Scientists at the National Immunology Institute, New Delhi, led by its director Dr Avadhesha Surolia, have developed a new form of insulin which can could maintain normal blood sugar levels for over 120 days.

The insulin currently available can do this for a maximum of 18 hours, forcing diabetics to take at least one injection daily to sustain their sugar levels. With this new product, they can now restrict their shots to once every four months.

Dr Surolia said the new product was based on the principles of 'protein folding', and could release insulin molecules in a controlled and sustained manner for over 120 days.

"The just above basal level of human insulin released in a sustained manner has been found to be effective in not only controlling the upsurge in the level of blood glucose after meals, but also in preventing the dreaded early morning hypoglycaemia, which is caused by low glucose levels," he was quoted as saying.

The team has already patented the technology and transferred it to a US-based company for fine-tuning and clinical trials, and the product is likely to be in the market in about six years.

"It is a multi-million dollar technology transfer agreement with royalties once the product goes to the market and if I am not wrong it is one of the biggest scientific innovations to have come from a government-owned research laboratory," Dr Surolia said.

Once it arrives, the technology has a ready-made market in the country of its birth.

India is known as the diabetes capital of the world, with an estimated 50 million diabetics in the country.