The new drug manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline is called Tanzeum and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating adults who suffer from type 2 diabetes.
Early this week the FDA approved albiglutide, marketed as Tanzeum to help control blood sugar level in adults with type 2 diabetes. A subcutaneous injection with Tanzeum improves glycemic control along with exercise and a healthy diet in patients with the diabetes disease.
Curtis Rosebraugh, director of the Office of Drug Evaluation II in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said that “”Tanzeum is a new treatment option for the millions of Americans living with type 2 diabetes and it can be used alone or added to existing treatment regimens to control blood sugar levels in the overall management of diabetes.”
The recently approved drug Tanzeum is a receptor agonist similar to a glucagon. It’s actually a hormone that helps diabetes patients regulate the levels of blood sugar in their body. The effectiveness and safety of the new product was evaluated in eight clinical trials involving over 2000 patients who have type 2 diabetes.
The scientists have observed that the patients who have been treated with Tanzeum displayed improvements in their levels of HbA1c, which is a measure used for controlling blood sugar. The new drug was used as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with two other diabetes therapies. These therapies included glimpiride, metformin, insulin and pioglitazone.
The Tanzeum drug is not approved for patients with type 1 diabetes, people with high levels of ketones in their urine or blood. Tanzeum should not be used as first therapy for people who cannot keep a strict diet and exercise.
FDA warns users to pay attention and carefully read the Boxed Warning because Tanzeum used on lab animals was associated with tumors of the thyroid gland with GLP-1 agonists. It’s not clear whether Tanzeum triggers the cell tumors like the thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma in humans. The drug should not be taken by people with a family history of this kind of thyroid cancer or with cases of Multiple Neoplasia syndrome type 2.
Tanzeum New Drug For Type 2 Diabetes – side effects
The common side effects from using Tanzeum include nausea, diarrhea and a reaction of the injection spot. The new drug was approved with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation strategy, cautioning health care professionals about the health risks that come from using the drug.