MSD demonstrates effectiveness of new diabetes drug

Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has released new data concerning its investigational therapy for type two diabetes, sitagliptin.

The drug is the first in a new class of oral treatments called dipeptidyl peptidas-4 inhibitors, designed to promote the body’s ability to control its own elevated blood sugar levels.

In a phase III study, patients were given either sitagliptin as an add-on treatment with another anti-hyperglycaemic therapy, metformin, or sitagliptin alone.

Patients with moderately elevated HbA1c blood glucose levels who received simultaneous treatment of both metformin and sitagliptin demonstrated a significant reduction in blood-glucose.

Two-thirds of subjects receiving both drugs achieved their target of their HbA1c levels being under seven per cent, compared to 38 per cent of patients using metformin alone.

Barry Goldstein, study investigator and director of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic diseases, said the effectiveness demonstrated by the drug combination resulted in an “addictive effect”.

“These results demonstrated that giving sitagliptin and metformin together was well tolerated with significantly greater efficacy on HbA1c lowering than metformin alone,” he stated.

Dr Goldstein concluded by suggesting that this is important because metformin is a “mainstay” of current diabetes therapy.

In the United States, sitgliptin will be marketed as Januvia. Previous trials conducted by MSD suggested that the drug has a “substantial” effect on the body’s ability to lower blood glucose levels.