Are These Diabetes Drugs Safe After All?

A study released in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine in February claimed to have found that GLP-1 based diabetes drugs increased a patient's risk of pancreatitis by 100%. Data from 2005 to 2008 were analyzed for Januvia from Merck and Byetta from Bristol-Myers Squibb . While that seemed to be bad news for GLP-1-based therapies (GLP-1 and DPP-4 classes), doctors and the Food and Drug Administration had been wary of such a link since 2007. It was simply the first time that a number had been put on the risk.

Well, things just got a lot more complicated. The European Medicine Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, initiated a study of its own and found no such link to an increased risk of pancreatitis. The EMA also found several flaws with the original JAMA study that could have led to a biased interpretation of the results. Will it change the mind of doctors and the FDA? Which companies stand to benefit? Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko breaks it down in the following video.

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The article Are These Diabetes Drugs Safe After All? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko has no position in any stocks mentioned. Check out his personal portfolio, his CAPS page, or follow him on Twitter @BlacknGoldFool to keep up with his writing on energy, bioprocessing, and biotechnology.The Motley Fool recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool owns shares of Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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