NN&I - August 2010

Diabetes Watch August 2010 Nephrology News & Issues 19Subscribe to our free eNewsletter at www.nephronline.comStudy stumbled upon 12 new diabetes genesWhile comparing type 2 diabetes patients DNA to determine differences in certain people's risk of having the condition, scientists from Edinburgh in Scotland said they identified 12 new genes linked to type 2, calling their findings, "important clues to the bio-logical basis of type 2 diabetes." The 12 new geneswhich tend to be involved in working cells producing insulinbring the total number linked with type 2 diabetes to 38. "Gradually we are piecing together clues about why some people get dia-betes and others don't," researchers said, "with the potential for developing better treatments and preventing onset of diabetes in the future." Pharma's market Under study Under study Compiled by Thomas KeatingRoche delays Byetta competitorRoche Holding AG said June 18 that it will postpone the experi-mental diabetes drug taspoglutide by at least 12 to 18 months after more people than expected had side effects, led by skin reactions and digestive complications. The delayed drug was to compete with San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and drug partner Eli Lilly & Co., whose twice-weekly injection garnered $668 million in sales last year for Amylin, or 88% of total revenue.J&J buys into diabetes drugJohnson & Johnson said June 22 that it will pay $45 million up front and could pay more than $625 million in total to develop and commercialize a type 1 drug created by Sweden's Diamyd Medical AB. J&J's Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. unit could pay up to $580 million over time based on development, milestones, and tiered royalties based on sales. Novo Nordisk to restart study on obesity drugNovo Nordisk said June 22 it restarted a late-stage study on its diabetes drug Victoza, aimed at treating obesity. Novo Nordisk said it plans on restarting the study in the first half of 2011, following discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Victoza is currently approved as a once-daily, injectable type 2 diabetes drug. Large gap in diabe- tes, obesity screening among U.S. health clinicsSome U.S. health clinics do not offer diabetes screening or obesity prevention programs to their clients, who tend to be poor, and clinics need to be "armed and equipped" to respond to the growing threat from type 2 diabetes and obesity in the United States, a recent study pub-lished in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health found. Researchers focused on 2,300 health clinics surveyed in 2005, find-ing that about 56% of health clin-ics offered obesity prevention pro-grams, while 51% offered diabetes screening. High blood glucose during preg-nancy boosts child's type 2 riskWomen whose blood glucose was high during pregnancy are more likely to bear children with low insulin sen-sitivitya risk factor for type 2 diabe-teseven after taking into consider-ation the children's body weight, a new study shows. The results, conducted by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, were pre-sented June 19-22 at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.Minor kidney damage + type 1 = increased mortalityPeople with type 1 diabetes who have early and asymptomatic kidney dam-age, as indicated by small amounts of protein in the urine, are six times more likely to die compared to the general population, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. FDA grants Avandia reprieve, but with restrictionsFaced with conflicting and less-than-conclusive scientific evidence, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended July 14 that GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia diabetes drug remain on the marketbut with tighter supervision and increased warnings about the danger of heart attacks. Reflecting the difficulty of balancing potential risks and benefits for individual patients, 10 members of the 33-member panel voted to keep Avandia on the mar-ket under close supervision, seven voted to permit continued marketing but with stronger label warnings, and three favored the status quo. One member abstained. Twelve members voted to remove the drug. According to IMS Health, prescrip-tions for Avandia dropped from 13 million in 2006 to 2.6 million in 2009. DiabetesWatch-NNI0810_4.indd 19 7/20/10 1:59:03 PM