No indications diabetes drug candidate causes pancreatitis

Denmark's Novo Nordisk, which is the world's largest insulin maker, has found no increased risk of acute pancreatitis in studies conducted on Phase III drug candidate liraglutide.

The concern for contracting pancreatitis stemmed from findings related to a similar drug. According to the Reuters web site, "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned doctors and patients on Tuesday that Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc's and Eli Lilly and Co's diabetes drug Byetta may be linked to acute pancreatitis."

Both Byetta and liraglutide belong to a new class of medications that treat type 2 diabetes.

"Type 2 (diabetes) patients and obese people have an increased risk of getting pancreatitis from the outset. So in relation to the placebo group we have not seen signs that liraglutide causes pancreatitis," said Novo Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard. Krogsgaard also stated that tests conducted on over 3,000 patients showed they had no signs of pancreatitis over the placebo.