Injectable BYETTA™ For Type 2 Diabetes
FDA-approved BYETTA™ (pronounced bye-A-tuh) is the first in a new class of drugs called incretin mimetics to reach the market for Type 2 diabetic adults. Incretin mimetics mimic the antidiabetic or glucose-lowering actions of naturally occurring human hormones called incretins.
BYETTA™ is an adjunctive therapy for Type 2 diabetics who have not achieved adequate control on medications containing metformin and/or a sulfonylurea. BYETTA™ is an injectable medicine that works with pills like Glucophage® (metformin) and/or sulfonylureas like Amaryl® (glimepiride), Glucotrol® (glipizide), Micronase® (glyburide), and others. BYETTA™ is not a substitute for insulin in patients whose diabetes requires insulin treatment, but it does help the body make insulin when it’s needed.
BYETTA™, active ingredient exenatide, comes in a pre-filled pen-injector device that subcutaneously delivers 5 or 10 micrograms per dose (patients typically start at the lower dosage for a month). BYETTA™ is self-administered twice daily in the thigh, abdomen or upper arm, during the 60 minutes before the morning and evening meals.
Once in the system, BYETTA™ signals the pancreas when to start and stop producing insulin, thereby creating the right amount of insulin when the body needs it. BYETTA™ also slows stomach emptying, creates a feeling of fullness, reduces glucagons released from the liver (glucagons cause the release of sugar from the liver into the blood), and may help cells that produce insulin in the pancreas live longer.
In clinical trials for BYETTA™, lasting improvements in blood sugar levels were seen as soon as the first day. Improvements were also noted in A1C (a 3-month average of blood sugar levels). As an added benefit, many Type 2 diabetics who use BYETTA™ have reported weight loss; one study showed that patients who lost the most weight also had a more significant drop in triglycerides and a more significant rise in HDL, or good cholesterol.
“The availability of a treatment that lowers blood sugar and has the potential to help restore the response of the body’s insulin-producing cells is an exciting advance for patients with Type 2 Diabetes,” said Dr. David Kendall, Medical Director at International Diabetes Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and an investigator for the BYETTA™ clinical studies. “BYETTA™ is a truly unique tool for the management of Type 2 Diabetes and is an appropriate option to consider when patients cannot control their blood sugar using one or more oral medications.”
BYETTA™, inspired by the poisonous Gila lizard of the American Southwest and Mexico, has been hailed by the New York Times as a “Ray of Hope for Diabetics,” and has quickly gained ground among doctors and diabetics, even without a big marketing push.
Possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, feeling jittery, and acid stomach. Nausea is most common when first starting BYETTA™, and decreases over time in most patients.
If BYETTA™ is used in conjunction with medications containing sulfonylurea, hypoglycemia may occur, but this is remedied by reducing the dose of sulfonylurea medication. BYETTA™ may also slow the way some oral medicines are absorbed, especially if the medications are taken with a meal. In clinical studies, BYETTA™ did not meaningfully interfere with commonly prescribed medicines.
BYETTA should not be used by patients with Type 1 Diabetes, for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis, or by patients with end-stage renal disease or severe renal impairment, or severe gastrointestinal disease. It should also not be used as a diet aid by non-diabetics. And BYETTA™ has not been studied in children.
BYETTA™ is jointly manufactured and marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly. The active ingredient is exenatide, and inactive ingredients are metacresol, mannitol, glacial acetic acid, and sodium acetate trihydrate in water for injection.
BYETTA™ is covered by most insurance plans. It is available now at Focus Express Mail Pharmacy. Click here to see how you can get Injectable Byetta for little or no cost. For more information, please call Focus, toll-free, 1-866-403-6287.
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