Glaxo Diabetes Drug Approved As First-Line Treatment

GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandamet has been approved by the FDA for use as a first-line treatment of type 2 diabetes as an adjunct to diet and exercise.

Avandamet, a combination of GSK’s Avandia (rosiglitazone maleate) and the diabetes drug metformin, was previously only approved as second-line therapy for patients who were uncontrolled on metformin monotherapy.

“Rosiglitazone targets insulin resistance, an underlying cause of type 2 diabetes, whereas metformin primarily works to reduce the amount of blood sugar (or glucose) produced by the liver. In fact, a clinical trial comparing Avandamet to both rosiglitazone alone and metformin alone showed that patients taking Avandamet achieved significantly lower blood sugar levels than with either monotherapy alone,” said Dr Barry Goldstein, director of the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic diseases at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels that occur when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not respond properly to its own natural insulin, a condition called insulin resistance.