Exenatide Once Weekly for Type-2 Diabetes

Filed in archive Treatment on September 12, 2008

Mt Sinai researchers have new data on the once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes that could replace the the current conventional treatment which requires 14 injections a week of the available version of the drug known as Exenatide (Byetta). The new findings support previous reports of its efficacy in replacing the twice-daily version.

In an international multicentre 6-month clinical trial involving 300 eligible patients, 75 per cent of study subjects who received the once-weekly Exenatide got their diabetes under control as defined by reaching target glucose levels. Patients treated with Exenatide once weekly also experienced fewer side effects, had no increased risk of hypoglycemia (decrease in blood sugars) and saw reductions in body weight.

The new once-weekly treatment is expected to undergo Canadian regulatory review as early as 2009.

Source: SLRI (doc)