June 22, 2006 -- New Drugs for Diabetes, ADHD

Four new diabetes drugs and a new treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are expected this year. Two of the diabetes drugs are already approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the manufacturer of a new ADHD treatment is hoping for approval by the FDA and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A diabetes drug introduced in June last year and already in use, called Byetta, is an injection that stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin and the liver to produce less blood sugar, according to the manufacturer, Eli Lily. Still awaiting FDA approval are two more diabetes drugs––Galvus, produced by pharmaceutical company Novartis and Januvia, which is manufactured by Merck––that work on the same principle, by increasing levels of a naturally produced hormone that stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin and the liver to produce less blood sugar. Already approved by the FDA and expected to be on the market next month is a Pfizer drug called Exubera, billed as the first inhalable version of insulin.

Still awaiting FDA approval is an amphetamine for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that would be sold by drug maker Shire Pharmaceuticals as the successor to its drug Adderall XR. The new drug, currently being called NRP104, is said to be effective when used to control ADHD but to be less likely to be snorted or injected by potential abusers. The manufacturer is applying to the Drug Enforcement Administration for Schedule IV classification, which would put the new drug in the same category as Valium. Current ADHD drugs such as Adderall XR, Concerta, and Ritalin, are so-called Schedule II drugs, the government’s most restrictive category for legal drugs.

The FDA can be contacted online at http://www.fda.gov. The Drug Enforcement Administration is at http://www.dea.gov.