More than 220 medicines in US pipeline for diabetes

America’s biopharmaceutical research companies currently are developing 221 innovative new medicines to help the nearly 26 million patients in the USA affected by diabetes. The medicines in development – all in either clinical trials or under review by the Food and Drug Administration – include 32 for type 1 diabetes, 130 for type 2 and 64 for diabetes-related conditions, according to a new report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

“Diabetes is a serious chronic disease with far-reaching implications for American patients, families, our health care system and our economy," said PhRMA president and chief executive John Castellani. “However, diabetes can be controlled through lifestyle interventions. And treatment with medications can also manage and slow the disease. The medicines in the pipeline represent an exciting new chapter in the ongoing quest to better treat this debilitating disease,” he noted.

Since 1990, six new classes of diabetes type 2 medicines have been approved by FDA, giving patients and providers powerful new tools to treat the condition. America’s biopharmaceutical research companies continue to explore many different approaches to battle diabetes. Examples of the potential innovations outlined in the report, available on the PhRMA web site, include: