Study suggests Byetta alone can lower blood sugar

SAN DIEGO Amylin Pharmaceuticals has stated that results from a clinical trial showed that patients with adult-onset diabetes that were only taking the drug Byetta were able to lower their blood sugar, according to published reports.

The company plans on using the results of the 232-patient clinical trial to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use of Byetta as a stand-alone drug therapy.  When it was approved in April 2005, for use with other drugs, the FDA told Amylin that if clinical data were submitted, they would consider approving the drug as a stand-alone therapy.

Byetta had sales of $430 million in 2006.