India gets its first ‘weekly’ injectible drug for Type 2 diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most haunting diseases to prevail in the world. In India, the number of patients suffering from the same is increasing day by day. Out of the two types of diabetes, it is believed that Type 2 diabetes occurs in 80% to 90% of the patients worldwide.
Most of these patients on a daily basis have to inject insulin in order to keep their sugar levels under check, which proves to be more than a painful process for many patients.
Diabetes is also known to have a negative affect on kidneys where in patients are advised to undergo dialysis, which again is a painful, time consuming and money spending process. Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd. announced today the launch of its recently approved diabetes treatment Trulicity (dulaglutide) in India. Trulicity is the first once-weekly, injectable medication designed to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Trulicity is part of a class of drugs known as a glucagon – like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonists. It is not insulin and mimics the effects of GLP-1, a natural hormone that helps keep blood sugar levels normal, by helping the body release its own insulin after food intake. It comes in an easy to use, single-dose pen that does not require mixing or measuring and can be administered at any time of the day, independent of meals.
“Diabetes is a big burden on the healthcare system in India. Millions of Indians live with diabetes and have diverse needs”, said Edgard Olaizola, Managing Director, Lilly India. He added, “Trulicity is an important addition to our diabetes portfolio in India and this launch is an important milestone in our journey to help a large number of patients and their caregivers.
India is among the first few countries in the world and only third in Asia (after UAE and Japan) to launch Trulicity. It received US FDA approval in September 2014 and EU approval in November 2014. However it must always be remembered that Trulicity is a prescription drug that should be taken only on prescription from a registered MD (Internal Medicine) and Endocrinologist.
Source: Times of India
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