New York, NY - A feature article in March 2, 2006 issue of the New York Times reports on the soaring popularity of Byetta (exenatide, Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly), a new, federally approved type 2 diabetes drug whose dramatic weight-loss effects appear to be creating a market among people without the disease [1].

"The drug seems so effective for weight loss that some nondiabetics have begun using Byetta as a diet drug—causing concern among doctors, who say such use has not been medically tested and could be dangerous," Times staff writer Alex Berenson writes.

In addition, the article quotes patients with diabetes and physicians who say that, in addition to its weight-loss effects, Byetta is effective at controlling blood glucose levels and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia, common with insulin use.

The article quotes Dr Alan J Garber (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX), a former national board member of the American Diabetes Association, as saying his patients have done "strikingly well" on the drug and that "it is a better choice for an overweight diabetic."

Launched in June 2005, the drug's manufacturers do not plan to undertake a major marketing push until the summer of 2006. Yet, according to the article, as news of the drug spreads among patients and physicians, Byetta prescriptions are well ahead of projections. From November to January, reports Berenson, Byetta prescriptions rose almost 40%, to approximately 100 000.

Currently Byetta is the eighth most frequently prescribed diabetes drug in the US. But that could soon skyrocket as news of its weight-loss effects spreads among the general population.

At approximately $170 a month, or $2100 a year, Byetta is slightly more expensive than other diabetes drugs. Berenson points out that while off-label use is legal, neither the FDA nor the drug's manufacturers endorse Byetta's use for indications other than diabetes. In addition, he reports that neither Amylin nor Eli Lilly plan to investigate its weight-loss effects in nondiabetics.

"Although many diabetes patients appear to tolerate it reasonably well, the drug's most common side effect is nausea, which for some patients is so serious they must stop using it. The drug also causes a rash, fever, and chills in some patients, although these effects often fade with continued use," Berenson writes.