Sunday December 23, 2007
Sweet extension
Improved version of metformin for patients with type 2 diabetes is now available in Malaysia.
AN extended-release version of glucophage (metformin hydrochloride tablets) used to help control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes was launched by Merck Serono recently.
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Senior consultant endocrinologist Prof Dr SP Chan: ‘Metformin is widely recommended as the first step in pharmacological treatment by many international organisations (for the treatment of type 2 diabetes).’ |
Metformin also increases a patient’s body response to insulin, a natural substance that controls the amount of glucose in the blood.
Glucophage has been used for 50 years and is currently available in almost all countries worldwide.
Extensive experience with the drug over the years has demonstrated its excellent safety profile. A reduction of diabetic complications has been shown in overweight type 2 diabetic adult patients treated with metformin as first-line therapy after diet failure.
The new version exhibits all the advantages and efficacy of the immediate-release formulation and comes with the added benefits of reduced gastrointestinal side-effects, a common grievance from patients taking metformin.
Compared to immediate-release metformin formulations which are taken two or three times a day, the new version also encourages better treatment adherence as it is taken once a day with the evening meal.
Senior consultant endocrinologist Prof Dr SP Chan said: “Metformin is widely recommended as the first step in pharmacological treatment by many international organisations. International guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes recommend metformin as initial pharmacological therapy from the day of diagnosis, concurrent with lifestyle intervention such as diet and exercise.”
She explained that the principal tolerability issue with immediate-release metformin is gastrointestinal side-effects that occur in up to 20% of patients. These side-effects are usually transient, and resolve with continued treatment, or may be improved by a reduction in the metformin dose.
According to Dr Harry Howlett, a Senior International Medical Advisor with Merck Serono Pharmaceuticals, “Merck Serono is committed to advancing the treatment of type 2 diabetes, thus the improved version of the immediate-release metformin.”
Prof Charles Reasner, Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology, at the University of Texas Health Science Center and Medical Director of Texas Diabetes Institute, said that many type 2 diabetes patients are already burdened with multiple medications, and may find complex anti-diabetic regimens difficult to follow.
Therefore, oral anti-diabetic regimens should be simplified as far as possible to promote good compliance with treatment. The new drug was developed to meet this medical need.
It should be taken once a day with the evening meal up to the maximum dosage of 2000mg/day. It is now available in the Malaysian market since the day it was launched on November 28, 2007.
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