Pipeline Drugs for Diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body's inability to produce any or enough insulin causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood.-Type 1 diabetes --

Treatment typically begins with oral metformin, a veteran drug that is the backbone of many diabetes treatment regimens. Metformin should be the first-line drug for managing type 2 diabetes. Insulin and sulfonylureas should be second line, and glitazones should be reserved for third line. Metformin is the only drug for type 2 diabetes that does not cause weight gain, which is an important advantage. Insulin injected subcutaneously is the first-line treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Dulaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 agonist) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that can be used once weekly. GLP-1 is a hormone that is involved in the normalization of level of glucose in blood (glycemia). The FDA approved dulaglutide for use in the United States in September 2014. The drug is manufactured by Eli Lilly under the brand name Trulicity.

Perhaps the biggest lingering R&D question involves late-stage biosimilars like Merck/Samsung Bioepis's MK-1293. MK-1293 is a generic version of Sanofi's top-selling insulin treatment Lantus (glargine)-- a $7 billion annual market.

Artificial Pancreas from Medronics could hit the market by 2017 --Medtronic has reportedly filed for FDA approval of an “artificial pancreas” that could transform diabetes care. The medical device giant thinks its MiniMed 670G product could hit the market in 2017, according to Bloomberg.

Readings and References

An Artificial Pancreas for Diabetics Could Hit the Market Next Year