Novartis Diabetes Drug Eucreas, EU-Approved

Filed in archive Developments , News , Treatment on February 25, 2008

The Novartis diabetes pill Eucreas has been approved by The European Union for type 2 diabetes. Eucreas is a combination of Galvus (a DPP-4 inhibitor) and metformin (a popular diabetes drug which decreases the production of sugar by the liver and increases insulin sensitivity).




Galvus is another Novartis diabetes drug that has been approved by the EU last February 1. After said approval, safety issues cropped up (read: warning for liver problems).

The European Medicines Agency said in September it had backed Eucreas to treat type-2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. The Agency's recommendations are normally followed by approval in the 27-nation bloc.

The EU approved Galvus - which had been expected to garner over $1 billion in sales before its safety issues became apparent - on Feb. 1 after Novartis said the label for the drug should warn for liver problems.

DPP-4 inhibitors enhance the body's own ability to lower elevated blood sugar and could become an important new way to control diabetes. They are not associated with weight gains, a drawback in many other diabetes medicines.

Well, I guess, even in diabetes, we cannot have it all. Galvus and Eucreas are yet to be approved in the U.S.

Source: Reuters