FDA Approves Three New Type2 Diabetes Therapies

Type 2
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Takeda Receives FDA Approval for Three New Type 2 Diabetes Therapies, NESINA (alogliptin) and Fixed-Dose Combinations OSENI (alogliptin and pioglitazone) and KAZANO (alogliptin and metformin HCl)

Deerfield, Ill., January 25, 2013, and Osaka, Japan, January 26, 2013 – Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. today announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved NESINA (alogliptin) and the fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapies OSENI (alogliptin and pioglitazone) and KAZANO (alogliptin and metformin HCl) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults as adjuncts to diet and exercise.

“Takeda is pleased with the FDA approval of NESINA, OSENI and KAZANO for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, a therapeutic category in which we have more than twenty years of clinical and patient experience,” said Douglas Cole, president, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. “Millions of people are affected by diabetes and, as a leader in the diabetes arena, Takeda is dedicated to working to advance patient care and helping to meet the needs of this growing patient population.”

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Nesina (alogliptin) is a drug of the class DPP-4. Others include Januvia (sitagliptin), Onglyza (saxagliptin) and Gavus (vildagliptin)(approved in the EU, but not the US). These drugs inhibit the GLP-1 and GIP pathways and have been found to drop your A1c by about 0.5%. There are some who believe that the GLP-1 class of drugs are inherently more effective.

It is nice to see "competition." But this is a me too type of thing, we already have two expensive options, this is yet a third which is not any more effective than options already on the market. In fact, a real criticism is metformin monotherapy is more effective than DPP-4 monotherapy, but still I regularly hear of fellow patients put on these expensive medications as a first medication.

So, I greet this anouncement with a hearty "Whoop de doo."