Photo: Welchol(TM) (colesevelam HCl) Receives FDA Approval to Reduce Blood Glucose in Adults with Type ...( First and only medication approved t...),Health

First and only medication approved to reduce both A1C and LDL cholesterol

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Welchol(TM) (colesevelam HCl) to improve glycemic control (measured as hemoglobin A1C) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus in combination with metformin, sulfonylureas, or insulin, either alone or in combination with other anti-diabetic agents. Welchol is now the first and only medication approved to reduce both glucose levels and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (LDL-C). The ADA estimates that 20.8 million people in the United States have diabetes with more than 90 percent of these people having type 2 diabetes.(1) Forty percent of patients with type 2 diabetes also have high LDL-cholesterol.(2) Welchol is a new option that addresses both these chronic health conditions and provides physicians with a unique therapeutic approach for treating patients with type 2 diabetes.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080122/NYTU059 )

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/welchol/29889/

Pivotal data presented at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) 67TH Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago in June, 2007 demonstrated that Welchol can lower both A1C and LDL-C levels in patients with type 2 diabetes who were uncontrolled on a metformin-based regimen. Patients in the study were randomly assigned to two groups. The addition of Welchol was compared to the addition of placebo in patients on a metformin-based regimen. The addition of Welchol (n=79) to pre-existing metformin monotherapy achieved a significant mean reduction in A1C levels of 0.47 percent relative to placebo (p<0.0024). Further, the total Welchol tr
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