Eli Lilly and Company India has announced the launch of Byetta (exenatide injection) to improve blood sugar control in patients with type II diabetes in combination with metformin and sulphonylureas, two common oral diabetes medications.

Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Gupta, CMD, Lilly India said, "We are delighted to launch Byetta, a novel approach to treating type II diabetes. Exenatide is the first in a new class of anti-diabetic medicines known as incretin mimetics and is the first FDA-approved agent of this category".

With the prevalence of diabetes growing by the minute, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates the number of people with diabetes in India will reach nearly 80 million by the year 2025. "Considering the high economic burden caused by diabetes, Lilly has prioritized the launch of Byetta in India in the first wave of global launches," continued Gupta. India becomes the 4th major launch in the world after the US, UK and Germany where Byetta is now available.

Added Vinod Mattoo, Endocrinologist and Medical Director at Lilly India, "Byetta is not an insulin and is not a substitute for insulin Byetta actually helps the human body make more of its own insulin". This unique medicine was developed to help treat people with type II diabetes in a different way than the traditional oral medications or insulin. Studies with Byetta found that it not only improved blood sugar control but also resulted in a reduction in body weight.

Millions of diabetes sufferers throughout the world can thank the most unlikely of all medical heroes the desert-dwelling lizard (Gila monster) for this new and effective drug to control their disease. Dr John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in New York City, is credited with discovering exenatide after working on it for nearly two decades.

Incretin mimetics are a distinct class of agents used to treat diabetes. An incretin mimetic works to mimic the anti-diabetic or glucose-lowering actions of the naturally occurring human incretin hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). These actions include stimulating the body's ability to produce insulin in response to elevated levels of blood sugar, inhibiting the release of a hormone called glucagon following meals, slowing the rate at which nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and reducing food intake.