Byetta/Januvia Pancreatic Cancer

FDA withholds approval of diabetes treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold off on approving Novo Nordisk’s diabetes medication Tresiba, a long-acting insulin, until the company conducts extra tests to address heart risks.

A Reuters story says over-eating and lack of exercise have created an “epidemic” of type 2 diabetes, creating a high demand for treatment.

But the FDA is wary of new diabetes treatments, in light of controversy over GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia pill. According to Reuters, ...

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Pediatrics group issues guidelines for diabetes

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued the first-ever guidelines for children between the ages of 8 and 10 with type 2 diabetes. A CBS News story says the organization took that step partially in response to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, which puts children at greater risk of the condition.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by an inability to produce or properly use insulin — a hormone needed to convert food into energy. It’s long been associated with an ...

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GSK to fight legal settlements over diabetes drug

In the United States, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in legal settlements related to its diabetes drug Avandia.

But the company intends to fight efforts by British families to get similar settlements, in what a Reuters story predicts will be a “lengthy court battle.”

European authorities pulled Avandia from the market in 2010 after it was linked to increased heart risks, Reuters reports. But it’s ...

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Study: Kidney disease biggest threat to diabetes patients

A story in U.S. News and World Report says new research suggests the best way for Type 2 diabetes patients to expand their life spans is to avoid kidney disease.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle found that 10-year mortality rates for people with both type 2 diabetes and kidney disease is more than 31 percent.

That number dropped to 12 percent for people with only type 2 diabetes. And ...

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FDA: Diabetes drug has heart risks

U.S. Food and Drug Administration staffers said a diabetes drug called canagliflozin, which Johnson & Johnson submitted for review, may carry heart risks.

The development could jeopardize Johnson & Johnson’s ambitions in the profitable diabetes medication market, Bloomberg reports.

The pill, which Johnson & Johnson proposed marketing under the name Invokana, is part of a new class of diabetes treatments aimed at cutting side effects from current drugs. Variations are being developed ...

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Merck recalling heart medication

Pharmaceutical giant Merck is withdrawing its heart drug Tredaptive from the market in 40 countries after a study showed that it didn’t work, and caused more serious side effects than placebos.

A report on NPR says the drug was meant to prevent heart disease and stroke by promoting good cholesterol. It combines the vitamin niacin and laropiprant, a chemical that reduces the unpleasant skin flushing caused by high doses of niacin.

Other Merck medications have generated concerns recently. Januvia, the company’s treatment ...

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