Eli Lilly ‘to educate healthcare professionals’ on Byetta

Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals have announced a new treatment option for the enhancement of blood sugar control in patients with type two diabetes whose glucose levels are not sufficiently managed by treatment with thiazolidinedione (TZD).

Healthcare professionals will be educated regarding this additional administration with Byetta (exenatide) injection following its approval by the Food and Drug Administration last month.

Clinical studies found that 62 per cent of patients treated with Byetta in conjunction with their original treatment achieved an A1C blood glucose reading of seven per cent or lower, 56 per cent more than the group administered with a placebo.

Ginger L Graham, chief executive officer at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, reported that nearly 500,000 patients with type two diabetes had previously used Byetta for the reduction of blood sugar.

“Now, even more people, those who use another common category of oral medicines, TZDs, have a new treatment option and have the opportunity to benefit from the unique clinical benefits of Byetta.”

In November, Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced the granting of marketing authorisation for Byetta as a treatment for type two diabetes by the European Commission, following a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use two months earlier.

The companies stated that they would be launching the compound in the EU during 2007.