Diabetes

WASHINGTON — A project by the philanthropic wing of the American Pharmacists Association to include pharmacists on diabetes care teams in highly affected and underserved communities has produced significant decreases in blood-sugar levels among patients, according to results released Thursday.

NEWARK, Calif. — Drug maker Depomed has sold its interests in royalty and milestone payments for several Type 2 diabetes drugs to PDL BioPharma, Depomed said.

The drug maker announced that it had sold its interest in the Type 2 diabetes therapeutic area to PDL for $240.5 million, which it plans to use to acquire rights to products it said would drive long-term growth and build on its expertise in pain and neurology.

BETHESDA, Md. — Researchers have begun the first definitive, large-scale clinical trial to investigate if a vitamin D supplement helps prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes in adults who have prediabetes and are at high risk for developing Type 2. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the study is taking place at about 20 study sites across the United States, the agency announced Monday.

WEST COVINA, Calif. — Diabetes Care Partners has introduced a new telehealth diabetes self-management education program, the company said.

The West Covina, Calif.-based company announced the launch of DiabetesCareConnect at Eastern Plumas Health Care in Portola, Calif., supported by Telehealthdocs, a team of physicians and telemedicine specialists, and Telemed Management.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Patients taking a drug used for weight loss were able to reduce their chances of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

According to data from a 475-patient study published in the journal Diabetes Care, Vivus' Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate) reduced the annualized incidence rate of Type 2 diabetes by up to 78.7% in high-risk, overweight or obese patients with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome. Prediabetes is a condition in which a person has elevated blood sugar and a high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

NEW YORK — All people living with diabetes should make nutrition therapy part of their treatment plans, the American Diabetes Association is recommending. But the group also is saying that no single eating pattern works best for everyone.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A new mobile game app designed by CyberDoctor showed improvements in medication adherence, diet and exercise in diabetes patients, according to a study.

The company said that breakthrough clinical trial results for the game, called PatientPartner," documented for the first time the effectiveness of a story-driven game in changing health behavior and biomarkers. The study was conducted among 100 nonadherence patients at Hershey, Pa.-based Pinnacle Health Systems and presented at the Health2.0 Conference Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif.

PLANO, Texas — Research Now announced the launch of its Diabetes Panel, a collection of 336,000 deeply-profiled panelists in the United States and Canada who have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity. Research Now's Healthcare Panels also include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospital executives and administrators.