India | UK | US

Merck gains on approval for combo diabetes pill

Posted : Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:43:01 GMT
Author : Agencies
Category : US (Business)
News Alerts by Email ( click here )
US Business News | Home
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Merck & Co. rose on Monday after the company won U.S. marketing approval for Janumet, which combines its recently introduced Januvia diabetes drug in the same tablet with the widely used metformin treatment.

Merck was up 74 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $44.91, in midday trade on the New York Stock Exchange, amid slight gains for the drug sector.

Janumet, by combining Januvia and metformin into a single product, is meant to help patients with Type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar. That most common form of diabetes is highly linked with obesity.

Metformin, a member of the biguanide class of oral treatments, is the most widely used-diabetic drug in the United States. It was introduced more than a decade ago by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. under the brand name Glucophage, but is now sold by many generic drugmakers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October approved use of Januvia either by itself or alongside metformin or another class of medicines called thiazolidinediones (TZDs) to treat type 2 diabetes.

Analysts have predicted Januvia, a member of a new class of drugs called DPP-4 inhibitors, would become a blockbuster medicine with annual sales of more than $1 billion.

"Over time, we wouldn't be surprised if Janumet overtakes Januvia as the preferred drug in its class as potency on the combined agent is superior to the single-agent pill," Morgan Stanley analyst Jami Rubin said in a research note.

She said combined annual sales of Januvia and Janumet are likely to reach $2.8 billion by 2011.


(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Article : Merck gains on approval for combo diabetes pill
Print this article
Email this article

Stay Updated
News gadget on your Google homepage
Subscribe to a news feed in Google Reader



Have your Say
Name
Email
Subject
Your Comment

Enter Verification code
 
  

 

 

More US (Business) News click here
Follow The Earth Times
Subscribe to RSS Follow Earth Times on TwitterNews by email
Share/Save/Bookmark

 
 



 
Subscribe to free Earthtimes
News Alerts by Email Click here
For RSS Feeds Click here
or Create your own RSS

Add to Google Toolbar
Breaking News
Press Releases


The Earth Times
News Category

© 2009 www.earthtimes.org, The Earth Times, All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy
Earth Times accept no responsibility or liability either directly or indirectly for views or opinions expressed in articles or comments.