Metformin News and Research

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Metformin is the active ingredient in a drug used to treat diabetes mellitus (a condition in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood). It is also being studied in the treatment of cancer. It decreases the amount of glucose (a type of sugar) released into the bloodstream from the liver and increases the body’s use of the glucose. Metformin is a type of antidiabetic agent.

CSC to provide medical billing services to Denver Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism

Clinic Service Corporation (CSC), the leader in Colorado Practice Management Solutions, announced today the firm has secured an agreement to be the exclusive provider of medical billing services to Denver Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism.

3 Oct 2009

Dapagliflozin with metformin reduces glycosylated hemoglobin level and body weight

Results from a 24-week phase 3 clinical study demonstrated that the investigational drug dapagliflozin, added to metformin, demonstrated significant mean reductions in the primary endpoint, glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) and in the secondary endpoint, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin alone, as compared to placebo plus metformin.

3 Oct 2009

Array BioPharma to present poster on ARRY-403 glucokinase activator

Array BioPharma Inc. today announced that a poster on ARRY-403, a novel, oral, glucokinase activator (GKA), will be presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting, on October 2, 2009, in Vienna, Austria.

2 Oct 2009

Sanofi-aventis announces study results comparing efficacy of Lantus to detemir

Sanofi-aventis announced today results of a head-to-head study providing further evidence on the efficacy of once-daily, 24-hour basal insulin Lantus(R) (insulin glargine (rDNA) injection) compared to twice-daily insulin detemir. The study was presented during the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna.

30 Sep 2009

Januvia in combination with metformin or taken alone lowers blood sugar

A post-hoc analysis, presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), of data pooled from studies of 104 weeks in duration showed ‘Januvia’ (sitagliptin), when taken alone or in combination with metformin, provided significant blood sugar lowering over two years.

29 Sep 2009

Safety profiles of JANUVIA and JANUMET drugs established through clinical development program

Merck has thoroughly reviewed the safety data for sitagliptin, and sitagliptin was not associated with an increase in the incidence of pancreatitis in preclinical studies or in clinical trials of up to two years in duration with more than 6,000 patients.

28 Sep 2009

European CHMP recommends Merck's JANUVIA and JANUMET as add-on to insulin

Merck & Co., Inc., which operates in many countries as Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), has received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for JANUVIA® tablets and JANUMET® tablets recommending their use as add-on to insulin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

26 Sep 2009

EGFR-targeted therapy improves survival rates in metastatic colorectal cancer patients

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that Erbitux® (cetuximab) demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival (OS) when added to standard 1st-line chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with KRAS wild-type tumors.

23 Sep 2009

Intarcia's ITCA 650 phase 2 study in type 2 diabetes begins patient enrollment

Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the start of enrollment for a phase 2 study comparing its proprietary drug candidate ITCA 650 (DUROS continuous delivery of exenatide) with Byetta, an FDA-approved twice-daily injection form of exenatide.

17 Sep 2009

Study reveals ineffectiveness of insulin and metformin against inflammatory biomarkers

In patients with recent onset type-2 diabetes, treatment with insulin or the diabetes drug metformin did not reduce inflammatory biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, although the treatment did improve glucose control, according to a study in the September 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Sep 2009

Diabetes drug and chemotherapy kill cancer stem cells in mice

In a one-two punch, a familiar diabetes drug reduced tumors faster and prolonged remission in mice longer than chemotherapy alone by targeting cancer stem cells, Harvard Medical School researchers reported in the September 14 online first edition of Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

14 Sep 2009

Abstracts on Merck Serono oncology treatments to be presented at ECCO and ESMO

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, continues to drive the global effort to ensure patients receive personalized cancer therapies. A total of 17 abstracts concerning Merck Serono oncology treatments will be presented at the joint 15th Congress of the European Cancer Organisation (ECCO) and 34th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), to be held in Berlin from 20-24 September 2009.

11 Sep 2009

Takeda receives FDA response regarding NDA for fixed-dose combination of alogliptin and ACTOS

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc. (U.S.), received on September 2 (U.S. TIME), a complete response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for the fixed-dose combination (FDC) of alogliptin and ACTOS(R) (pioglitazone HCl).

4 Sep 2009

Depomed reports promising results in phase I trial for DM-1992 in Parkinson’s

Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ:DEPO) today announced that in its Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study in Parkinson’s patients, DM-1992, Depomed’s investigative novel gastric retentive extended-release formulation of levodopa/carbidopa, extended coverage above levodopa’s efficacious threshold and extended the time to peak levodopa concentration relative to currently available sustained release levodopa/carbidopa formulations.

11 Aug 2009

Insulin and type 2 diabetes - fears are largely unfounded

People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar and seeing their quality of life decline.

11 Aug 2009

Metformin associated with reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in diabetics

The antidiabetic medication metformin is associated with a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer in diabetics, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. However, other commonly used therapies, such as insulin or insulin secretagogues, may be associated with increased risk for the deadly disease.

3 Aug 2009

NDA for Exenatide once weekly accepted for FDA review

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for exenatide once weekly has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

7 Jul 2009

Novel diabetes treatment Syncria (albiglutide) improves glucose control and reduces weight

New Phase II data presented today at the American Diabetes Association 69th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans show that the investigational type 2 diabetes treatment Syncria (albiglutide) significantly reduced blood glucose levels and provided weight loss across weekly, biweekly and monthly dosing. Reducing blood sugar is a key part of managing type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects over 250 million people worldwide.

9 Jun 2009

Cancer vaccine efficacy enhanced using anti-diabetic drug Metformin

After a vaccination or an infection, the human immune system remembers to keep protecting against invaders it has already encountered, with the aid of specialized B-cells and T-cells. Immunological memory has long been the subject of intense study, but the underlying cellular mechanisms regulating the generation and persistence of long-lived memory T cells remain largely undefined. Now, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have found that a common anti-diabetic drug might enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. The findings are described this week in an advanced online publication of Nature.

4 Jun 2009

Metformin may 'revolutionize' cancer-fighting treatments

Researchers at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments. Their findings will be published June 3 in the journal Nature.

3 Jun 2009