Monday, June 8, 2009

ADA 2009: New Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes


Much has changed in the world of type 2 diabetes. In the past, we used to write type 2 diabetes as type II diabetes (notice the difference between 2 vs. II)? At ADA this year, we're seeing some exciting research about new treatment options for type 2 diabetes. This includes DPP-IV (or should that be DPP-4) inhibitors, GLP-1 analogues, and more.
  • Saxagliptin, an investigational dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, may yield cardioprotective effects as shown in a meta-analysis. Since diabetes is considered a cardiovascular risk equivalent, anything that offers cardioprotection would be beneficial for patients with diabetes. If saxagliptin gets approved, how will it compare to Januvia (sitagliptin)?
  • There's also an investigational once-weekly formulation of exenatide (Byetta) that's in the works. Speaking of GLP-1 analogues, I'm also eager to hear more about the research on liraglutide (an investigational agent).

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