Updated

The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved a first-of-a-kind diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson that uses a new method to lower blood sugar.

The agency cleared J&J's Invokana tablets for adults with Type 2 diabetes, which affects about 26 million Americans.

The drug is a once-a-day medicine designed to lower blood sugar levels in patients by eliminating more sugar in their urine. The drug works by blocking the reabsorption of sugar by the kidneys, which occurs at higher levels in patients with diabetes.

J&J has touted the drug as the first in a new class of medications to help address the nation's growing diabetes epidemic. The drug differs from older drugs that work by decreasing the amount of sugar absorbed from food and stored in the liver.