It's good data, but is it good enough? Amylin Pharmaceuticals announced that its once-a-week version of the diabetes drug Byetta works better than the twice-a-day version now on the market. It was welcome news for Amylin and its partners Eli Lilly and Alkermes. And potentially for diabetes patients, because keeping the drug at a steady level in the body could be better at preventing complications from blood sugar fluctuations. (Caveat: The FDA warned last month that some Byetta patients developed acute pancreatitis.)
But some stock analysts were disappointed that the difference in efficacy of the two dosing schemes wasn't more dramatic. And others bemoaned the fact that Amylin doesn't intend to ask the FDA to approve the new-and-improved Byetta until 2009. Amylin stock fell 3.8 percent to $46.52.
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