The spit of a giant and poisonous lizard will now help control diabetes. Compounds in the saliva of the endangered and carnivorous Gila Monster, which spends up to four months digesting its food, have been copied to develop a ground-breaking injection to treat type 2 diabetes.

The drug, which helps the body produce the right amount of insulin at the right time, was recently approved by India’s drug controller general to help diabetics regulate blood sugar levels after a meal. It will be launched in the country on October 6.

Gila Monsters, native of North America and Mexico, have a hormone called Exendin-4 in their salivary glands, which increases the production of insulin when blood sugar levels rise after a large meal. Scientists found that Exendin-4 was similar to a hormone in the human digestive tract called GLP-1 and lasted much longer. The drug is a synthetic replica of Exendin-4.