More than 80 percent of patients in all treatment arms completed the study. There were no major hypoglycemia events in any treatment group. The most frequently reported adverse events among BYDUREON users were nausea (withdrawal rate less than 1 percent) and diarrhea; metformin, diarrhea and headache; Actos, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, hypertension and peripheral edema; and Januvia, upper respiratory tract infection and headache.

BYDUREON (pronounced by-DUR-ee-on) is the proposed brand name for exenatide once weekly. It is an investigational, extended-release medication for type 2 diabetes designed to deliver continuous therapeutic levels of exenatide in a single weekly dose. BYDUREON is a once-weekly formulation of exenatide, the active ingredient in BYETTA?® (exenatide) injection, which has been available in the U.S. since June 2005 and is used in approximately 60 countries worldwide to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. BYDUREON and BYETTA belong to the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist class of medications.

Study Design

The 26-week, double-blind, randomized, four-arm parallel study enrolled 820 patients who were not achieving adequate A1C control on diet and exercise. Patients had an average type 2 diabetes diagnosis of two to three years. The patients were randomized as follows: BYDUREON (2 mg, once per week)>

The companies plan to present the full data set at a major medical meeting and submit the data for publication.

SOURCE Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.