Content about Amylin

NEW YORK — Bristol-Myers Squibb is acquiring Amylin Pharmaceuticals, the drug maker said Friday.

Bristol announced that it would acquire Amylin for $5.3 billion, or $31 per share. The total value of the acquisition is about $7 billion, including $1.7 billion in Amylin's contractual payment and debt obligations.

SAN DIEGO — Drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals has filed for regulatory approval of a drug to treat diabetes and elevated triglycerides in the bloodstream in children and adults with a rare disorder.

The market for drugs to treat diabetes — especially Type 2 diabetes — has shown quite a bit of activity lately. At the end of January, the Food and Drug Administration approved Bydureon (exenatide), a once-weekly version of the drug Byetta, which was originally developed by Alkermes and subsequently developed further under an alliance between Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly that the two companies formed in 2002. In November 2011, however, Amylin and Lilly terminated their alliance in the wake of an announced diabetes drug partnership between Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim.

SAN DIEGO — Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Alkermes announced that their Type 2 diabetes treatment now is available by prescription in U.S. pharmacies.

Bydureon (exenatide extended-release for injectable suspension) received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Jan. 27 as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for Type 2 diabetes made by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, the drug makers said.

The FDA approved Jentadueto (linagliptin and metformin) tablets, designed to be taken twice daily. The approval marks the second since the two companies announced their collaboration to develop diabetes drugs in January 2011; the first drug approved under the Lilly-BI partnership was Tradjenta (linagliptin), approved in May 2011.

SAN DIEGO — A special focus on its diabetes franchise will define Amylin Pharmaceuticals' corporate strategy, the company's chief executive said at a recent conference sponsored by J.P. Morgan.

INDIANAPOLIS — A diabetes drug made by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use with an insulin product made by Sanofi.

Lilly and Amylin said Byetta (eventide) won approval from the FDA as an add-on therapy for patients with Type 2 diabetes taking Sanofi's Lantus (insulin glargine [rDNA origin]) who have not achieved adequate blood sugar control on Lantus alone.

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles said they have found a possible link between two new drugs for Type 2 diabetes and cancers of the pancreas and thyroid, according to a new study published in the journal Gastroenterology.

The researchers, at UCLA's Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center, examined incidents reported in the Food and Drug Administration's adverse event database between 2004 and 2009 among patients using Byetta (exenatide), made by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and Merck's Januvia (sitagliptin).

BURLINGTON, Mass. — Novo Nordisk could be outpacing Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals in the diabetes wars, according to an analysis by healthcare market research firm Decision Resources.

SAN DIEGO — Use of a drug for Type 2 diabetes made by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals may lower patients’ risk of heart failure, according to a new study.

The study of more than 778,000 patients taking the injected drug Byetta (exenatide) found that adding the drug to a pre-existing diabetes regimen, especially if that regimen included insulin, was associated with reduced likelihood of heart failure. Results were presented Saturday at the 71st Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

INDIANAPOLIS — A new oral medication for Type 2 diabetes made by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim has become available in pharmacies, the companies said Wednesday.

Lilly and BI announced the availability of Tradjenta (linagliptin) in chain and independent pharmacies around the country.