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Trial of Roche's Xenical Bolsters View That Obesity Drugs Help Combat Diabetes
Monday August 26, 1:38 am ET
Roche Holding AG's Xenical, a prescription fat-blocking drug, appears to ward off the development of the most common form of diabetes, a study shows, lending weight to the notion that obesity drugs may be a potent aid in preventing the disease, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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The four-year study, sponsored by Roche, is the largest and lengthiest trial to date of an obesity drug in diabetes prevention. Of the 3,304 at-risk patients who participated in the study, all of whom made healthy lifestyle changes, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was 37% lower in those treated with Xenical.
After four years of treatment, 26% of those who took Xenical managed to lose and keep off 10% of their body weight, while only 16% of the patients not taking the drug did.
In that time, 6.2% of the participants who were taking Xenical went on to develop diabetes. Of the group that took placebos, 9% did.
The Xenical study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that in some cases, combining a healthier lifestyle with certain drugs can stave off diabetes even more effectively. "Lifestyle is always the basis of preventing diabetes," said Jarl Torgerson of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, who helped lead the trial. "But by adding a weight reducing agent, people could go even further in stopping the disease. And that's a real breakthrough."
That could provide drug makers with another huge and potentially lucrative market for established diabetes or obesity treatments. With obesity and inactivity on the rise, diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases world- wide, afflicting more than 150 million people today and 300 million by 2025.
-- Vanessa Fuhrmans, staff reporter of The Wall Street Journal, contributed to this article. |
