Novo Nordisk is known in the diabetes community for its insulins, Novolog and Levemir, used to treat mainly typecast 1 diabetes. Only in the last year, Novo launched a new rather injectable, a "first line of defence for people with type 2 diabetes" called Victoza (generic: liraglutide). It's a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drug configured to stimulate insulin secretion when hyperglycemia (high line of descent saccharide) is latter-day.

Victoza is still the new shaver on the block Here in the US, having vindicatory been approved away the FDA on January 25. It was approved in Europe last July, and has already been used by a fair number of patients there.

The big question on the market, and among doctors and patients now is, how will Victoza stack up against Byetta, the most healthy-known injectable drug for type 2 diabetes? Byetta has been very successful as a weighting-release assist, but the nausea it causes makes it intolerable for some people.

One hulking difference is that Victoza has a longer half life, thus it can be injected fair-minded once a Clarence Shepard Day Jr., at any time. Byetta, by line, has to be stolen at every meal.

How Well It Plant

Through an online question, I was favorable to hear from Raymond, living with type 2 diabetes in England: "The doctor formal Victoza for me along the 6th of February and I have been taking 0.6mg per day at 8am. I have been able to reduce my insulin from 160 units per Clarence Shepard Day Jr. to 100."

The incline effects, he says, were some nausea and stomach pains which lasted just just about a workweek. "My appetite and hunger has been rock-bottom and I seldom cultivation my evening meal. Most mornings I have to force myself to eat breakfast only I know I mustiness keep a weak eating pattern. The Victoza I conceive has really helped me as I was fast decorous insulin-intolerant."

So what happens when patients combine Victoza with their usual buccal anti-diabetes drugs? Funny you should need. Diabetes Care recently published online the results of the LEAD-6 telephone extension study, showing what happens when patients switched from Byetta to Victoza, additionally to the oral drugs. The data showed:

• Mean A1C decreased from 7.2% to 6.9%

• A greater share of patients reached their A1C targets (42.5% vs. 57.9%)

• Patients also experienced further reductions in fast plasma glucose, body weight, and systolic blood pressure

Potential Risks

OK, so Victoza received two thumbs up from both Raymond and Diabetes Handle — but thither are placid some concerns. Victoza was given a Black Box warning: "Because of the uncertain relevance of the rodent thyroid C-cell tumor findings to humans, prescribe Victoza lonesome to patients for whom the potential benefits are considered to outweigh the potential risk." Although the marker for thyroid gland malignant neoplastic disease instant in patients was high, it was tranquillise inside median range, according to the authorities. Silent, the only means to find out is to preserve ongoing Cancer the Crab monitoring for the future 15 years (!)

There have also been discussions that drugs same Byetta and Victoza sack suit an increased peril of pancreatitis. In reaction, the drugmakers state: "There is nobelium clear association between this class of drugs with pancreatitis. We know that increased risk of pancreatitis with people with diabetes is iii-fold over people without diabetes." So while there is a exemplary that pancreatitis is also a risk, none clear cause and impression have been proven.

The Business Case

Alan Moses, Main Global Medic for Novo Nordisk, explains Novo Nordisk's POV on Victoza: "Medications for patients are flawed at best. They preceptor't treat implicit in abnormalities of the disease. There are side effects that are not swell perceived aside patients: weight unit gain, hypoglycemia. If patients are already fleshy, then gaining weight is the wrong direction. It may further exacerbate their disease state As well. Those issues are some of the reasons why Novo Nordisk decided to quest for this therapeutic region."

So Novo believes that Victoza is a fix for all those problems? Mr. Moses admits that the company too became interested in working on Victoza because their insulin products are predominately used by hoi polloi with eccentric 2 diabetes later in the course of the disease. Victoza gives Novo an chance to start at the diagnosis of eccentric 2 diabetes, hopefully to cover the ability of a person to use their own insulin. "We provide patients with reliable, efficacious products the whole life-cycle of diabetes, " he says.

Who Will Benefit?

My own endo shared her initial thoughts: "I'm trying it on new GLP-1 candidates so I can get about experience with it. I try it especially on masses whose fasting blood sugar is higher than I'd like (over 100) since I think it works better connected fasting blood sugars, though potentially not as well on postprandial BGs. Need more time to get a real feel for information technology clinically."

Nonetheless new, it may take time in front we know how Victoza really works out for people. Anyone come out of the closet there proved Victoza yet? Surgery been recommended to do so away your doctor? How get you found it? Please take a minute to contribution your thoughts in the comments section Hera.

** UPDATE: June 15, 2011 **

The FDA has just issued a safety warning on Victoza, associated with assertable risks of thyroid cancer and pancreatitis. Please find out our coverage by clicking here.