at some point you should put a few shekels into conjuchem
I think the data was good, this trial didn't show weight loss but the prior trial did. The mean weight of the patients in this trial was 83kilos. amln had patients with over a 100 kilos
stock has gotten killed. the needle for cjb.to is 30 or 31 gauge
Novo Nordisk Up on Diabetes Drug Data Thursday June 21, 11:44 am ET Novo Nordisk U.S. Shares Rise on Release of Positive Diabetes Drug Data
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- Shares of Novo Nordisk AS jumped Thursday after the Danish insulin maker released positive results on its experimental diabetes drug the day before the American Diabetes Association begins its annual conference in Chicago.
U.S. shares of Novo Nordisk rose $5.94, or 5.9 percent, to $106.98 in midday trading. Shares have traded between $60.35 and $107.30 during the past 52 weeks.
The company said its drug liraglutide, when used with the diabetes drugs metformin and glimepiride, lowered average blood sugar levels in diabetics 0.2 percentage points more than patients given insulin glargine, the active ingredient in Sanofi-Aventis SA's Lantus. Novo Nordisk said the reduction in blood sugar was statistically significant.
Representatives at Sanofi-Aventis were not available for immediate comment. U.S. shares of the French drug maker fell 13 cents to $40.69.
Patients before the start of the study had average blood sugar levels of 8 percent to 8.5 percent, well above the ADA's recommended 7 percent. Novo Nordisk said more than half of the patients given liraglutide reached 7 percent or less, and that 35 percent of patients reached a blood sugar level of 6.5 percent or less.
The company said patients given liraglutide also lost an average of 7.7 pounds after 26 weeks. Patients before the trial weighed an average 187 pounds.
Liraglutide is expected to compete with Byetta, a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug sold by Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Shares of Lilly dropped 26 cents to $56.15, and Amylin shares fell 25 cents to $41.05.
Questions or comments about this story should be directed to Wallace Witkowski of AP Financial News at 212-621-7190.
"We think liraglutide, which is human GLP-1, will emerge as a less potent and less convenient version of LAR,"
Novo Nordisk jumps on positive data for diabetes drug
By Val Brickates Kennedy, MarketWatch Last Update: 3:51 PM ET Jun 21, 2007
BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk jumped on Thursday after the company released positive data for its diabetes drug candidate liraglutide. U.S.-traded shares of Novo Nordisk jumped 6% to $106.61 in afternoon trading. Early Thursday, Novo Nordisk said that a Phase III clinical trial for liraglutide showed that it was able to more effectively control blood sugar than a placebo or the long-acting insulin product insulin glargine, also known as Lantus. In addition, the 26-week study showed that patients who took liraglutide lost more weight than those on insulin glargine. Weight is a major factor in developing and controlling diabetes, a progressive disease where the body loses its ability to properly regulate blood sugar. According to Novo Nordisk Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, patients taking liraglutide lost about 8 pounds while those taking insulin gained weight, a common problem with insulin therapy. Novo Nordisk tested the drugs in combination with two leading oral diabetes medications, metformin, also known as Glucophage, and glimepiride, also known as Amaryl. Lantus, an insulin product that needs to be injected only once a day, is marketed by Sanofi-Aventis. Thomsen said that Novo Nordisk sees potential sales of liraglutide, if approved, to be in excess of $1 billion a year. Novo Nordisk said that Thursday's results were from the first of five Phase III clinical trials under way. Results from the other four will be released during the second quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. According to Thomsen, liraglutide is based on the human hormone GLP-1, which can trigger the release of insulin in the pancreas while suppressing appetite. Novo Nordisk is seeking to have the drug approved as both a monotherapy and for use with several leading diabetes drugs. Thomsen added that liraglutide is also in Phase II testing as a treatment for obesity. Liraglutide belongs to a new class of diabetes drugs that includes Byetta, which was recently launched by Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. Like liraglutide, Byetta also has been shown to be able to lower weight in diabetics.
According to Thomsen, although Byetta and liraglutide belong to the same class of drugs, they are different compounds. Despite the similarities, at least some analysts on Thursday said they thought liraglutide would not emerge as a major threat to Byetta. "We think its [liraglutide] weight-loss and glucose-lowering profile looks less threatening to Amylin's Byetta/LAR franchise than was previously thought," wrote FBR Research analyst James Reddoch, referring to a long-acting version of Byetta called LAR that is in late-stage development. "We think liraglutide, which is human GLP-1, will emerge as a less potent and less convenient version of LAR," Reddoch added. Byetta is taken at least twice daily, whereas Byetta LAR is intended for weekly use, according to Amylin's Web site. In the clinical trial released Thursday, liraglutide was administered once a day. Thomsen said that Novo Nordisk is also working on a weekly administered formulation of the drug, which it hopes to start Phase I testing of later this year. Amylin investors, meanwhile, didn't appear to be spooked by the news, with shares trading fractionally higher at $41.49. Lilly shares were largely flat at $56.75.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
