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New diabetes drug possibly on its way to market

Category: Diabetes

A pharmaceutical company is in the mid-stages of testing a new once-a-week treatment for people who have received a positive blood test result for type 2 diabetes, according to Reuters.

Trials for MK-3102, produced by Merck & Co., were shown to reduce the blood sugar of almost 700 subjects, in proportion to the amount of the drug they consumed, in a 12-week study. The next phase of tests will compare MK-3102 to other diabetes treatments.

"We think this is going to be a very attractive choice for patients who have a high pill burden. Any attempt to simplify the regimen for those patients is helpful," Nancy Thornberry, the company's head of diabetes and endocrinology, told Reuters.

The American Diabetes Association states that individuals who have gotten unfavorable outcomes from a diabetes blood test can take pills to keep their blood glucose levels under control, especially if they were diagnosed recently and don't need to take more than 20 units of insulin daily. However, it is not considered likely that oral medications will benefit diabetics who have lived with the condition for more than a decade.