Roche aims to join diabetic drug market

BASEL, Switzerland Roche is looking to get into the diabetic drug market after having tremendous success with its cancer drugs like Avastin and Herceptin, according to Bloomberg. The company wants to join the market because it is expected to grow in revenue by 50 percent over the next 20 years.

Roche has about seven drug treatments that it is working on now. The leading candidate is a year behind a similar drug from Eli Lilly, but will be marketed as easier to use and less painful than Lilly’s drug.

The drug mimics a hormone called incretin, which stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin when blood sugar levels rise too much. The molecule is smaller than Lilly’s and can be hidden in a disposable pen-like device, while Lilly’s drug which is a weekly version of its diabetic drug Byetta, will have to be added to liquid and be accompanied by a bigger needle and syringe.

Research has shown that a daily version of Roche’s product and the daily version of Byetta both can control blood sugar and bring weight loss, and have similar side effects, said Nick Giannoukakis, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine who’s studied phase II tests.

Roche is also working on a treatment that raises incretin levels by blocking an enzyme that destroys it. The company is also working on a drug similar to GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia, which could reduce both blood sugar levels and risk of heart problems by cutting cholesterol.