Diabetes drug treatment is typically very challenging for any person that suffers from low or high levels of glucose in their blood. While oral treatment has become more popular, the invasive shots of insulin are still extremely common and make living with diabetes a laborious and painful venture. Drug companies such as Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Novo-Nordisk are releasing new treatments that are longer lasting, up to a week. For people taking more than shot day, these drugs could be a life saver, literally.
The FDA already approved one version of this diabetes treatment drug, Victoza, by Novo-Nordisk. The drug poses risks but it's availability has already helped other biotechnology companies, such as Amylin, to stand in line to release their drugs as well.
The drug being manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals is known as once-weekly exenatide, called Byetta. "This is an important step in the regulatory process as we work to transition exenatide from an investigational agent to the marketplace, providing an additional therapy to people living with type 2 diabetes," said Ginger Graham, President and CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
The industry for this type of diabetes treatment will profit exponentially, even with competitors' releases of similar drugs. With millions of Americas suffering from diabetes however, there will clearly be a large enough customer base to go around. A Citi investment research analyst commented about the rising shares of Amylin, from $14 to $27, which a Barclays analyst reaffirmed a raised priced target from $22 to $24.
The review is expected to be completed by March 5 of this year. Clinical trials have shown the drug's impressive eficacy even though there are side effects, such as inflammation of the pancreas. Victoza also fell under scrutiny for this same side effect because the drugs work in similar ways. The shot injects a hormone called GLP-1 that stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin after meals.
The risk of getting low blood sugar is also higher if one takes Byetta. The new diabetes treatment guidelines are being requested from researchers in the UK after a study revealed that aiming for a blood glucose level of 7.5 percent was safer than 7 percent for those suffering from hypoglycemia rather than hyperglycemia.
Written by Amy Munday
Huliq.com
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