Newer diabetes medicines from makers including Merck and Lilly work no better than older, cheaper drugs, researchers said.
Doctors have embraced the drugs -- including Merck's Januvia, and, in a second new class, Byetta from Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lilly -- largely because they don't cause low blood sugar and can lead to weight loss. Analysts say the products may each generate peak annual sales of $1 billion or more within three years.
A review of 29 studies -- only three of which lasted more than 30 weeks -- found that while the drugs work better than placebos in controlling blood sugar, they are no more effective than medications available for pennies a pill. The research also showed the drugs carry side effects older treatments don't, including nausea, vomiting and infections.
``It would be premature to fully embrace and use both these classes of medications over older, more-established medications for a chronic condition such as diabetes,'' said the lead researcher, Anastassios Pittas, an assistant professor of medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, in a telephone interview today.
A month's supply of 100-milligram tablets of Januvia costs $163.99, or almost $5.50 a pill, from Drugstore.com, while a single cartridge of the injected Byetta costs $200. Sixty tablets of metformin, a drug that makes the cells more sensitive to insulin, is $33.99.
``They are 10 to 12 times more expensive,'' Pittas said. ``The question is, are they 10 times better? It's pretty amazing to me that we have six-month data and a lot of people are willing to jump on this, even though the drugs haven't proven themselves yet and they are very, very expensive.''
More
Doctors have embraced the drugs -- including Merck's Januvia, and, in a second new class, Byetta from Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lilly -- largely because they don't cause low blood sugar and can lead to weight loss. Analysts say the products may each generate peak annual sales of $1 billion or more within three years.
A review of 29 studies -- only three of which lasted more than 30 weeks -- found that while the drugs work better than placebos in controlling blood sugar, they are no more effective than medications available for pennies a pill. The research also showed the drugs carry side effects older treatments don't, including nausea, vomiting and infections.
``It would be premature to fully embrace and use both these classes of medications over older, more-established medications for a chronic condition such as diabetes,'' said the lead researcher, Anastassios Pittas, an assistant professor of medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, in a telephone interview today.
A month's supply of 100-milligram tablets of Januvia costs $163.99, or almost $5.50 a pill, from Drugstore.com, while a single cartridge of the injected Byetta costs $200. Sixty tablets of metformin, a drug that makes the cells more sensitive to insulin, is $33.99.
``They are 10 to 12 times more expensive,'' Pittas said. ``The question is, are they 10 times better? It's pretty amazing to me that we have six-month data and a lot of people are willing to jump on this, even though the drugs haven't proven themselves yet and they are very, very expensive.''
More
2 comments:
While I agree with the point people are making, as someone who can't tolerate Metformin or Fortamet, I would love to try a new formulation to see if my body could handle it better. (They cause muscle spasms/cramps all over my body.)
Unfortunately, the insurance companies will use this information to refuse coverage on the new medications.
As I always say, it doesn't pay to be medically unique.
M
If you want to see how Byetta has helped REAL people some who have been taking it for over 3 years read
www.diabetes.blog.com
Post a Comment