INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES

NEW YORK — A multicultural study that will appear in the March issue of the Journal of Renal Care underscored the relationship between kidney disease and diabetes, and the need for greater awareness of this link.

In this small study, 23 South Asian diabetes patients and 25 white diabetes patients between the ages of 34 years and 79 years — with an average age of just older than 70 years — were surveyed to note any differences in the experiences, knowledge and attitudes of the two groups.

CHICAGO — Hispanics will wield $1.2 trillion in buying power in less than a year, the SymphonyIRI Group and partner Synovate noted Wednesday in a new joint market research report.

The two companies created HispanicLink to help retailers and manufacturers more effectively develop marketing and merchandising programs to reach this burgeoning demographic. The analysis included intel on Hispanics’ shopping habits, cooking, eating and drinking behaviors, health-and-wellness practices and their media preferences.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Women with ovarian cancer who received a drug made by Genentech lived longer without their disease becoming worse, according to a late-stage clinical trial.

Genentech, part of Swiss drug maker Roche, announced results from its phase-3 “OCEANS” study, in which women with recurring ovarian cancer received Avastin (bevacizumab) with gemcitabine and carboplatin, both chemotherapy drugs, followed by use of Avastin alone.

SAN DIEGO — Medication education can help patients with diabetes stay compliant with their medication regimens, according to a new study published in the February issue of the journal Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

CHICAGO — With many businesses implementing customer reward programs to drive sales, it seems that the ones that promise everyday value and rewards fare better than their counterparts, according to new research.

The Recommendation Index, conducted by marketing agency Zocalo Group and M/A/R/C Research, analyzed 1,000 reward program participants, who were asked about brands they most often positively and negatively recommended, and the attributes they used to make their recommendations.

CHICAGO — While many consumers tend to choose less expensive products when times are tough, lower-income Hispanics that predominantly speak Spanish tend to buy brand-name personal care products at a higher rate than their English-dominant counterparts, according to recent research by Mintel.

ATLANTA — A drug designed to treat an eye condition caused by diabetes may provide a long-term option for patients, according to Alimera Sciences.

Alimera said in two three-year, phase-3 pivotal clinical trials — collectively known as the FAME Study — of Iluvien, which is designed to treat diabetic macular edema, the drug improved visual acuity among patients.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — The cardiovascular drug market will turn into a difficult conquest in the years to come as it increasingly will be dominated by generics, but that isn’t stopping drug companies from continuing to develop treatments — 299 of them, according to a recent report by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — for high cholesterol, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and other heart-related conditions.