¡EInvestigational Type 2 Diabetes Drug Lowers Weight, Improves I
New diabetes drug gives double punch
Study: Medication dramatically improves blood sugar levels, lowers weight
MEDPAGE TODAY
¡EInvestigational Type 2 Diabetes Drug Lowers Weight, Improves Insulin
Liraglutide, an investigational injectable drug for type 2 diabetes,
has produced significant decreases in HbA1c levels, as well as
significant and sustained weight loss, according to phase 2 studies.
NEW YORK - An experimental diabetes drug by Novo Nordisk dramatically
improved blood sugar levels and lowered weight in type 2 diabetes
patients in a mid-stage clinical trial, researchers said on Tuesday.
The drug, liraglutide, proved effective as a standalone therapy
without incidents of hypoglycemia, or dangerously low blood sugar,
according to data presented at the American Diabetes Association
scientific meeting in Washington.
Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Novo’s chief science officer, told Reuters he
believed the medicine could become a "blockbuster" with annual sales
of more than $1 billion a year.
Story continues below ¡õ advertisement
The 14-week, 165-patient study tested liraglutide at doses of 0.65
milligrams, 1.25 mg and 1.9 mg against a placebo, with the medicine
achieving statistical significance versus placebo at all three doses.
At the highest dose, hemoglobin A1C levels — a common measure of
blood sugar — was driven down by an average of 1.74 percent,
researchers said.
"This was more than highly statistically significant, it was one of
the biggest reductions in hemoglobin A1C of any studies seen before,"
Dr. Sten Madsbad, professor of endocrinology at the University of
Copenhagen and the study’s principal investigator, said in an
interview.
Weight loss
In addition, patients injected with the highest dose of liraglutide
lost an average of 6.6 pounds over 14 weeks compared with a loss of
2.6 pounds in the placebo group.
Weight loss is considered a major advantage over some older diabetes
drugs that can cause weight gain, as obesity is the leading cause of
type 2 diabetes. Patients often stop taking medication if they start
to put on weight.
–
November 6th, 2004 at 11:30 pm
From USA Today - today:
New drugs show hope in controlling diabetes
By Anita Manning, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - A new class of experimental drugs that aids hormones in the gut
can significantly lower high blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
without causing weight gain or other side effects, researchers said Tuesday.
The drugs, called DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitors, enhance a
natural process that lowers blood sugars.
When food is consumed, raising blood sugar levels, hormones in the blood
called incretins are released. The incretins stimulate production of insulin
and tell the liver to reduce production of glucose, but they’re quickly
inactivated by an enzyme called DPP-4.
The new drugs block the action of DPP-4, and data from clinical trials show
they preserve the function of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas.
The effects on the beta cells "suggest the potential for long-term disease
modification in this class" of drugs, says Ameet Nathwani, head of global
therapy for Novartis.
Scientists at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association presented
results of several studies showing that Merck’s drug, Januvia, and Novartis’
Galvus were effective alone or in combination with current diabetes drugs in
lowering blood sugar levels, especially in patients with very high glucose
levels. Both are oral medications that target type 2 diabetes and are under
review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Other drugs that act on the incretin system include Byetta, made by Amylin
Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and approved last year. Novo Nordisk is
developing a drug called liraglutide.
Both are forms of the incretin peptide GLP-1; GLP-1 triggers secretion of
insulin in response to high blood sugar levels and causes weight loss by
increasing a sense of fullness. Because only enough insulin is produced to
balance the sugar levels, the risk of too much insulin, which causes
dangerous plunges in sugar levels, is eliminated. Both drugs are given by
injection.
In a study involving 165 people with type 2 diabetes, researchers at the
University of Copenhagen reported up to half the patients given liraglutide
over 14 weeks had blood sugar levels reduced to the American Diabetes
Association’s goal of 7% or less on a test that measures glucose control
over a period of time. Just 8% of those on placebo had the same result.
No episodes of low blood sugar were reported.
Patients given the highest dose lost up to 6.6 pounds.
Experts welcome the new therapies. "So many people with type 2 diabetes are
poorly controlled," said the diabetes group’s vice president, John Buse,
director of the diabetes center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel
Hill. "We need new drugs to help."
Carl Eugene Moore
November 8th, 2004 at 8:56 am
Hi Carl,
Sounds like good news to me.
Any new drug for Diabetes,that does not cause weight gain & helps regulate
Diabetes numbers at the same time,sounds like a good deal to me.
I’m wondering ,if anyone has heard,anything about when ,Byetta will become
available in Canada.
I’m still doing the insulin to carb ratio thing as well as using Levemir at
night & taking 2 Diamicron MR tablets each morning.
My blood sugars have improved ,but my weight is up & over what it was when I
joined Weight Watchers,almost 3 years ago,which is depressing.
Yesterday Iwas finally down .8 of a pound, after being up the last few weeks
again. I see my Endo next Tuesday, he will be happy with my numbers ,but unhappy
with my weight & so am I.
Thanks for listening.
Sincerely
Linda From Southern Ontario
New drugs show hope in controlling diabetes
By Anita Manning, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - A new class of experimental drugs that aids hormones in the gut
can significantly lower high blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
without causing weight gain or other side effects, researchers said Tuesday.
The drugs, called DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitors, enhance a
natural process that lowers blood sugars.
When food is consumed, raising blood sugar levels, hormones in the blood
called incretins are released. The incretins stimulate production of insulin
and tell the liver to reduce production of glucose, but they’re quickly
inactivated by an enzyme called DPP-4.
The new drugs block the action of DPP-4, and data from clinical trials show
they preserve the function of insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas.
The effects on the beta cells "suggest the potential for long-term disease
modification in this class" of drugs, says Ameet Nathwani, head of global
therapy for Novartis.
Scientists at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association presented
results of several studies showing that Merck’s drug, Januvia, and Novartis’
Galvus were effective alone or in combination with current diabetes drugs in
lowering blood sugar levels, especially in patients with very high glucose
levels. Both are oral medications that target type 2 diabetes and are under
review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Other drugs that act on the incretin system include Byetta, made by Amylin
Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and approved last year. Novo Nordisk is
developing a drug called liraglutide.
Both are forms of the incretin peptide GLP-1; GLP-1 triggers secretion of
insulin in response to high blood sugar levels and causes weight loss by
increasing a sense of fullness. Because only enough insulin is produced to
balance the sugar levels, the risk of too much insulin, which causes
dangerous plunges in sugar levels, is eliminated. Both drugs are given by
injection.
In a study involving 165 people with type 2 diabetes, researchers at the
University of Copenhagen reported up to half the patients given liraglutide
over 14 weeks had blood sugar levels reduced to the American Diabetes
Association’s goal of 7% or less on a test that measures glucose control
over a period of time. Just 8% of those on placebo had the same result.
No episodes of low blood sugar were reported.
Patients given the highest dose lost up to 6.6 pounds.
Experts welcome the new therapies. "So many people with type 2 diabetes are
poorly controlled," said the diabetes group’s vice president, John Buse,
director of the diabetes center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel
Hill. "We need new drugs to help."
Carl Eugene Moore
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