Eli Lilly Reports Good Results for Diabetes Patients on Byetta

WASHINGTON A Food and Drug Administration-approved diabetes medication has marked improvements in both a patient’s beta-cell function and glycemic index.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly said patients who had one year of therapy with Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Byetta had improvements in both indices. The study compared patients taking Byetta with patients taking insulin glargine, finding the first group lost weight whereas the second group gained weight.

The findings from the randomized study, which enrolled 69 Type 2 diabetes patients in the two groups, were presented at the recent 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Amsterdam.

Byetta (exenatide) is designed for patients with Type 2 diabetes who are unsuccessful at controlling their blood sugar levels. Byetta is also utilized as an add-on therapy for patients using metformin, a sulfonylurea or a thiazolidinedione.