Merck says diabetes drug on par with standard care

NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) A diabetes drug awaiting US approval helped lower blood sugar levels comparable to a conventional treatment and also helped patients lose weight, the drug's developer, Merck&Co, said.

In the study, the drug, called Januvia, reduced a measure of blood sugar control, called A1C levels, identical to the generic drug glipizide, after a year for patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Merck also said yesterday patients taking Januvia had weight loss, compared with weight gain on glipizide, and had a significantly lower incidence of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. The study was presented at the American Diabetes Association scientific meeting in Washington.

Obesity is the leading cause of Type 2 diabetes, and weight loss associated with Januvia is considered a major advantage over some older diabetes drugs that can cause weight gain.

Nearly 21 million people in the United States, or 7 per cent of the population, have diabetes, with Type 2 diabetes accounting for 90 per cent to 95 per cent of the cases, according to the American Diabetes Association.

''These are the first agents that patients go on to and (Januvia) holds its own relative to those therapies,'' Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan said, referring to the class of conventional treatments that include glipizide, known as sulfonylureas.

''Demonstrating non-inferiority to major standard-of-care is very important,'' Ryan added, noting Januvia's comparable ability to maintain blood-sugar levels.

Merck has said it expects the US Food and Drug Administration to decide whether to approve Januvia by mid-October.

Merck said that patients in the group treated with Januvia lost an average of 1.5 kg after 52 weeks. By comparison, patients treated with glipizide gained 1.1 kg.

Greater weight loss has been seen with two other new diabetes drugs in studies presented at the meeting.

The study found Januvia was comparable to glipizide in significantly reducing blood sugar after a year of treatment, when added to the regimen of patients with inadequate control of their blood sugar.

Januvia belongs to a new class of diabetes drugs called DPP-4 inhibitors that are designed to enhance the body's ability to trim elevated blood sugar levels.

Januvia would compete with another experimental treatment in the same class from Novartis AG.

Novartis released data on that drug, Galvus, earlier Tuesday that showed it significantly reduced blood-sugar levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes when given in combination with an older medicine called pioglitazone.

Shares of Merck rose 63 cents, or 2 per cent, to .00 on the New York Stock Exchange in late morning trade.

REUTERS SRS PM1014