MSD’s Janumet receives FDA approval

A new treatment for diabetes developed by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has been passed by the food and drug administration (FDA) in the US.

Following extensive testing conducted by the FDA, Janumet will soon be available for purchase by diabetics in pharmacies across the country at an estimated cost of $4.86 (2.45 pounds) per day.

According to MSD, Janumet is the only medicine developed in tablet form which contains a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin and metformin designed for the treatment of type two diabetes.

Professor Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, commented: “Janumet is an important new treatment option for many patients who need more than one therapy to control their type two diabetes because it addresses all three key defects of type two diabetes for improved glycemic control.”

He added that doctors often use a variety of different therapies as a combination treatment in order to address the range of problems experienced by patients with the condition, but that half of such dosing regimes fail to provide people with satisfactory A1C levels.

Also known as glycated haemoglobin, A1C is measured by healthcare teams to establish the average blood glucose control experienced by people with type two diabetes over a two to three-month period.