In a post-hoc analysis based on the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE/ACE) diabetes algorithm, significantly more patients with type 2 diabetes treated with Janumet (sitagliptin/metformin HCl) tablets achieved blood sugar goals after 18 weeks compared to metformin as initial therapy.
Janumet is indicated to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus when treatment with both sitagliptin and metformin is appropriate. Janumet should not be used in patients with type 1 diabetes or for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis.
“Close to half of all patients with type 2 diabetes have not achieved adequate blood sugar control, and patients often require combination therapy to reach blood sugar goals,” says Barry J. Goldstein, MD, PhD, vice president of head, diabetes and endocrinology, Merck Research Laboratories. “The results of this post-hoc analysis provide additional data regarding the use of combination therapy with Janumet for appropriate patients.”
Sitagliptin, a component of Janumet, enhances the body’s own ability to lower blood sugar levels by increasing the levels of active incretins. In combining the DPP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin with the most commonly used first-line treatment, metformin, Janumet targets all three key defects of diabetes: insulin deficiency from pancreatic beta cells, insulin resistance, and overproduction of glucose by the liver.
Release Date: June 25, 2011
Source: Merck Inc.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
