Byetta approved for use in Europe

The notorious weight loss diabetes drug Byetta has been approved by European health regulators. Eli Lilly and Co, together with Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc, will now make initial steps to sell the type 2 diabetes treatment in the UK.
The companies had been expecting a positive verdict following previous opinions from the European Medicines Agency . Byetta, also known as exenatide, has proved successful in the US this year.
The drug is launched into a market that is becoming very competitive, particularly with the news that Januvia (the new DPP-4 inhibitor from Merck) has launched particularly strongly in America . Byetta also heralds a new drug class called incretin mimetics.
Byetta also has an ace up its sleeve. People taking the drug in America have reported losing weight rapidly as a side effect. For many type 2 diabetics weight is a foremost concer, and anything that helps to lose weight as well as maintain steady blood glucose levels is a useful addition to the average type 2 diabetes treatment regime. Whether the drug is effective at a pre-diabetic stage remains to be seen.