NICE backs Bydureon for Type II diabetes
The U.K.'s NICE issued a preliminary appraisal recommending the use of once-weekly Bydureon exenatide from Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) to treat Type II diabetes in triple and dual therapy regimens. NICE recommended 1.2 mg Victoza liraglutide from Novo Nordisk A/S (CSE:NVO; NYSE:NVO) for the same use in the same populations last year. Comments on the draft are due Nov. 8.
Bydureon is recommended in dual therapy (in combination with metformin or a sulphonylurea), if the patient is intolerant to either metformin or a sulphonylurea, or treatment with either is contraindicated and the person is intolerant of thiazolidinediones and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, or treatment with the combination is contraindicated. Treatment in triple therapy (in combination with metformin and a sulfonylurea or thiazolidinedione) and dual therapy should only be continued if a beneficial response has been shown. The long-acting release (LAR) formulation of synthetic exendin-4 is approved in the EU to treat Type II diabetes in combination with metformin, a sulphonylurea or a thiazolidinedione; metformin plus a sulphonylurea; or metformin plus thiazolidinedione. ...