Roche to expand diabetes pipeline

BASEL, Switzerland Diabetes patients may soon find themselves with an expanded range of treatment options.

According to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced Thursday, Roche’s drug taspoglutide was able to reduce blood glucose in patients with Type 2 diabetes. The phase 3 trial is the first of five for the drug, a weekly GLP-1 analogue similar to Novo Nordisk’s Victoza (liraglutide) and Byetta (exenatide), made by Eli Lilly & Co., Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes.

“Taspoglutide’s consistent robust efficacy data across studies in terms of glucose control, when compared head-to-head with other widely prescribed diabetes treatments, are encouraging,” study investigator and director of the Dallas Diabetes and Endocrine Center at Medical City Julio Rosenstock said. “This weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist has the potential to become a valuable new treatment option for patients with Type 2 diabetes.”