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June 29, 2006

Pills for Diabetes

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Question from San Antonio, Texas, USA:

Is there a diabetes medicine made from iguana venom?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

You may be thinking about Byetta, which is a synthetic derivative similar to exendin 4. Exendin is found in the venom of the gila monster. Byetta is a GLP-1 product part of a new class of drugs called incretins.

Incretins are a new class diabetes drugs that “mimic” the effects of naturally occurring hormones from the intestines and can help the body make more of its own insulin.

Byetta is available in injectable form only and requires the use of other agents to be more effective. It is for use by people with type 2 diabetes.

ABS