Amylin received approval for its new diabetes drug yesterday, and the company was exstatic about it. But the market didn't respond with the same level of
exhuberence. Amylin shares were down today 6.6% due to the talk that the drug may have toxicities that might limit its use in broader population.
That may or may not be true. Byetta has demonstrated activity in patients who are not controlled by metformin or sulphonylureas. To these patients, Insulin is the only option available. While Insulin is a great drug, and one that has been used for years, the fact remains that Insulin causes other side effects such as weight gain, and increased CV risk. Byetta, from that perspective seems to be a better drug in that it doesn't cause the weight gain and could potentially be sparing to the insulin producing cells.
So it will be interesting to watch Amylin and Lilly, as the two companies go about teaching the market a thing or two about drug marketing.
