Diabetes Market Heating Up: Novo Nordisk Releases Positive Liraglutide Data (AMLN, NVO)

Novo Nordisk (ticker: NVO) released Phase 2b data of liraglutide, a once-daily competitor to Amylin's (ticker: AMLN) twice-daily Byetta. Results from the study compare favorably to Byetta.

The 14-week, 165-patient monotherapy study demonstrated 1.5-2.0 reduction in HbA1c, greater than 45% of patients reached a target HbA1c level of less than 7%, and at the highest dose the average weight loss was 6.5 pounds. This compares favorably with results from the three AMIGO studies that showed Byetta, in combination with other drugs, lowering HbA1c by 1% with 33-46% reaching a target HbA1c level of less than 7%, and weight loss of 1.5-2.5 pounds. Although this type of comparison lacks scientific rigor, it does highlight the importance of Amylin's Exenatide LAR.

« Any opinions expressed on the Seeking Alpha sites are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of SeekingAlpha or its management. »