Intarcia vs. Novo: Which has the most appealing diabetes PhIII program?

Now that Intarcia has come out ahead of Merck's ($MRK) Januvia in the latest study of its implanted extended-release option ITCA-650, some analysts are wondering how the next wrinkle in the big diabetes drug competition will play out. Over at EPVantage, that discussion has centered around Novo Nordisk's ($NVO) newly announced Phase IIIa program for oral semaglutide. Both the Novo pill and the Intarcia implant could carve out market share from the GLP-1 class, says EPVantage. So which would patients prefer? Intarcia is likely to be the first to test the market, with plans to file in the first half of 2016. Story