Diabetes

BETHESDA, Md. — A provider of mobile health solutions has introduced a free application that synchronizes with a wireless blood-glucose meter.

The MyTelcare Diabetes Pal, now available via the Apple App Store, allows patients and caregivers to use their iPhone, iPod Touch and/or iPad to visualize every glucose reading sent by the Telcare BGM (blood-glucose meter) while tracking medication, nutrition, activities and notes. What's more, the app also enables patients who don’t have the Telcare BGM to manually enter their blood-glucose data and track it over time.

SAN DIEGO — Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes announced that their Type 2 diabetes treatment now is available by prescription in U.S. pharmacies.

Bydureon (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension) received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 27 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

MINNETONKA, Minn. — Another retailer has joined the UnitedHealth Group's Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance, an initiative designed to help address the growing epidemic of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

NEW YORK — While the financial burden that families face due to prescription drugs has declined, costs nevertheless remain a challenge for many of them, according to a new study by nonprofit research organization Rand Corp.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS/pharmacy announced on Wednesday the launch of Project Health (Proyecto Salud in Spanish), a wellness program delivering more than $21 million worth of free health screenings to multicultural communities.

NEW YORK — Two members of Congress are looking for co-sponsors for a bill that would strengthen the medication therapy management benefit in the Medicare prescription drug program.

Last year, Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ala.; and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., introduced H.R. 891, the Medication Therapy Management Benefits Act, which would allow elderly people with at least one chronic condition access to Medicare Part D coverage for MTM. Currently, only those with multiple conditions are eligible.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England — Pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect than women without the condition, and the likelihood is linked to the mother's glucose level, according to a new study released by Newcastle University Monday.

The study, led by researchers at Newcastle University and the Regional Maternity Survey Office and funded by Diabetes UK, suggests that as many as 1-in-13 deliveries to women with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes involves a major congenital anomaly, also known as a birth defect.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — For all the fears about the patent cliff, at least one disease state seems to be on the up-and-up in terms of new drug development and new products.

(THE NEWS: FDA approves Bydureon. For the full story, click here.)