You can’t control diabetes with medication alone you must manage your diet too!
Diabetes has the potential to shorten your life span if you do not manage your diet well and get proper medical care. If you have Type 2 diabetes you may have become an expert when it comes to pharmaceutical treatments that help manage the disease. In fact the pharmaceutical industry has been doing tons of research in order to meet the demand from doctors, hospitals and patients for more effective medicines.
It’s important to follow the investment trends in pharmaceuticals to find out what is in store for diabetics in the next five years when it comes to research and development of new medications. Read this article by Sean Williams for The Motley Fool, an investment blog discussing medical diabetes research.
Cutting Edge Treatments for Diabetes
The hottest class of recent T2D drugs to hit the market is all-oral DPP-4 inhibitors, which work by reducing glucagon and blood glucose levels. Recently, researchers at Global Industry Analysts projected the global DPP-4 market could be worth $10.1 billion by 2017. The most well-known of all DPP-4 drugs was the first to be approved and is still the clear leader among DPP-4 treatments: Merck‘s (NYSE: MRK ) Januvia. Sales of Januvia rose 23% in 2012 to $4.09 billion and single-handedly accounted for 10% of Merck’s pharmaceutical sales. But even this trend may not last as is evidenced by some potentially serious complications and risks associated with Januvia, which can include severe allergic reactions, pancreatitis, and kidney problems.
We’ve come a long way in the T2D market from just injectable insulins, but physicians and patients are demanding more. Although I don’t possess a crystal ball (but secretly wish I did), here’s a glimpse at what the type 2 diabetes market may look like five years from now and what newly approved drugs and pipeline candidates could be making waves.
SGLT-2 inhibitors
The newest revolutionary trend in type 2 diabetes medications is SGLT-2 inhibitors. This class of drugs works in the kidneys and attempts to inhibit the reabsorption of filtered glucose to allow it to escape through a patient’s urine, ultimately improving glycemic balance. What’s really unique about SGLT-2 inhibitors is that they come with the added benefit of weight loss, a polar opposite side effect of many existing type 2 diabetes medications.
As you begin to learn more about the different medications available, you also learn that they almost always come with side effects. All of these cutting edge treatments for diabetics come with some side effects . Some are more serious than others but still you must discuss them with your doctor.
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