As Big Pharma Deals with Diabetes Drug Toxicity, Small Company Seeks Safer Path

Online, June 24, 2013 (Newswire.com) - These are frustrating times for several Big Pharma companies with diabetes drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently considering whether to run a study to determine if a definitive link can be established between some drugs marketed by Merck, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, and reports of acute pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. All the drugs in question mimic a hormone called GLP-1 to stimulate natural insulin production. In a separate case, another drug, marketed by GlaxoSmithKline, has lately been potentially linked to cardiovascular risks.

While this drama is unfolding, a smaller player in the diabetes market is making strides with an alternative approach involving complex carbohydrate chemistry. Carbohydrate chemistry can be applied to develop a range of complex therapeutic molecules and drugs, including pure carbohydrates as well as protein-linked carbohydrates. However, as a consequence of their structural complexity, carbohydrates have not received as much scientific attention as nucleic acids and proteins. However, significant progress is being made in this area.

Manchester, NH-based Boston Therapeutics is developing a non-systemic, non-toxic complex carbohydrate-based new chemical entity codenamed PAZ320 for its ability to lower post-meal elevation of blood glucose, and thus as a treatment to delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes and related complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney damage, retinopathy and diabetic foot. The chewable tablet is a complex polysaccharide to be taken before meals; it operates in the gastrointestinal tract to block the action of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes that break down carbs in foods during digestion, lowering the amount of available glucose absorbed via the intestine.

A recent study evaluated the combination of PAZ320 and oral agents or insulin in 20 patients with Type 2 diabetes between the ages of 18 and 75 with a body mass index of 25-40 kg/m2 and with HbA1c of less than or equal to nine percent. HbA1c is a lab test that shows the average level of blood sugar (glucose) over the previous three months. Forty-five percent of patients responded with a 40 percent reduction of post-meal glucose in the blood compared to baseline in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, results showed the effect of PAZ320 does not correlate with duration of diabetes and works regardless of concurrent diabetes medications.

For more information, please visit www.bostonti.com.

Related Media