ADA meeting sees new data on diabetes drugs

The annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association set the stage for new data backing experimental drugs for the disease. Merck presented several studies that supported Januvia for Type 2 diabetes, with data that showed the drug lowered blood sugar without triggering significant side effects. Januvia is a DPP-4 inhibitor and its approval would mark a new class of drugs for diabetes. Pfizer also presented data for its inhaled form of insulin, Exubera. And Novartis is expected to make a presentation on Galvus. The FDA is expected to make a decision on Januvia by the end of the year, with a decision on Galvus coming in early 2007.

- read the article [1] on the data from the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)

PLUS: The number of people suffering from diabetes globally has jumped from 30 million to 230 million in the last 20 years. Article [2]

ALSO: Novo Nordisk is touting new data for its diabetes drug Levemir. Report [3]