The FDA approved Januvia, a drug for Type 2 diabetes made by Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). Januvia’s approval is a new threat to Exubera, the inhaled insulin developed by Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR).
Merck sales reps are already looking forward to selling the drug.
One alleged plus: in contrast to Exubera’s safety risks, Merck says that Januvia was not associated, in the company’s clinical studies, with the common side effects, like weight gain and increased incidence of hypoglycemia (excessively low blood sugar), which can occur with some current diabetes treatments.
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