PhRMA: 180 diabetes medicines in development
WASHINGTON — America’s biopharmaceutical research companies currently are developing 180 new medicines to help the nearly 400 million people who have diabetes worldwide, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Tuesday. These medicines in development — all either in clinical trials or under review by the Food and Drug Administration — include 30 for type 1 diabetes, 100 for type 2 and 52 for diabetes-related conditions.
“Dedicated researchers in the biopharmaceutical sector, working hand-in-hand with others in the medical innovation ecosystem, are striving to meet the global challenge of diabetes by developing new innovative treatment options,” stated PhRMA president and CEO John Castellani. “The nearly 200 medicines in development today offer great hope that together we can ease the tremendous burden of diabetes on patients, public health and economies around the world.”
PhRMA released a report that conveys the range of innovative approaches being pursued to tackle this challenging chronic disease. Examples include:
- A medicine that improves glucose-dependent insulin secretion for type 2 diabetes;
- A medicine designed to inhibit an enzyme linked to diabetic neuropathy; and
- A treatment designed to stimulate and enhance the regeneration of insulin-producing cells for type 1 diabetes.
One of the biggest hurdles in discovering and developing new medicines for diabetes is the identification and validation of promising biological targets of the disease. A new public-private partnership involving the National Institutes of Health, 10 biopharmaceutical companies, PhRMA and several non-profit disease foundations aims to transform the current model for developing new diagnostics and treatments for certain diseases. The Accelerating Medicines Partnership will begin with three- to five-year pilot projects focused on three disease areas, including diabetes.