Old, Cheaper Diabetes Drugs are as Effective

Filed in archive Developments , Notable , Treatment on July 18, 2007

Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is the review on older and cheaper diabetes drugs which have been found to be as effective in lowering blood sugar levels as the newer and more expensive diabetes drugs available in the market.

From Reuters:

A comparison of 10 diabetes drugs showed they all worked well to reduce levels of glucose, or sugar, in the blood. But each one has drawbacks, the federally funded researchers found.

Used alone, metformin, the glitazones and newer sulfonylureas all reduced blood sugar about as well over time, Dr. Shari Bolen of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and colleagues found.

Gail Shearer of Consumer Reports said, "This is truly significant information for the millions of people with diabetes struggling to control their disease, but also struggling with the high cost of their medications."

I think the next step would be making a survey of how much are these older, cheaper diabetes drugs being prescribed out there by endocrinologists.

Why would doctors prescribe a more expensive drug if a cheaper drug will deliver the same treatment effect?

I hope this case on cancer drugs isn't the same here.