Diabetes drug development riskier versus any other therapy area, says Tufts CSDD

Whereas scores of new diabetes and non-diabetes endocrine drugs have been launched since the mid-1990s, and the demand for new therapies continues to grow, the development process for new diabetes and non-diabetes endocrine drugs is riskier compared to all drug development, according to results of a new study conducted by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

Only one in 13 investigational diabetes drugs that entered clinical testing from 1995 to 2007 ultimately received US marketing approval, compared to one in eight of all investigational drugs, the study found.

Although diabetes drugs that enter the clinical pipeline are less likely to enter Phase III testing, compared to all drugs, once in Phase III, diabetes drugs enjoy slightly higher approval rates, according to Tufts CSDD.