Despite Avandia's Recent Safety Warnings, Physicians Not Yet Ready to Use Januvia or Byetta as a Replacement for Avandia; Instead, They Will Use the Agents as Second- and Third-Line Options in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Private Managed Care Organizations Are More Likely to Provide Formulary Coverage for Byetta than for Januvia, According to a New Report from Decision Resources WALTHAM, Mass., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that physicians are not yet ready to use Merck's Januvia or Amylin/Eli Lilly's Byetta as a replacement for GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia; instead, physicians plan to use these agents as second- and third-line options, respectively, in response to the recent safety warnings associated with Avandia. According to the new Physician & Payer Forum report entitled GLP-1 Analogues vs. DPP-IV Inhibitors - Which Class Will Change the Face of the Diabetes Market?, clinicians are more likely to switch patients to Takeda's Actos than to Byetta or Januvia. In fact, surveyed physicians estimate that 52% of their patients who are taking agents that contain Avandia (i.e., GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia/Avandamet/Avandaryl) will continue treatment with these drugs, and that 15% of patients will switch to a preparation containing Actos (Takeda's Actos and Duetact, Takeda/Andrx's Actoplus Met). Although both Januvia and Byetta target the incretin pathway to treat type 2 diabetes, 80% of endocrinologists and half of PCPs do not view the two drugs as equivalent therapies. The report also finds that private managed care organizations are more likely to provide formulary coverage for Byetta than for Januvia. "Twenty-nine percent of surveyed private plans place Januvia off-formulary, compared with 15% for Byetta," said Marcus Bain, Ph.D., analyst at Decision Resources. "Most managed care organizations say that they exclude Januvia from their plan because of a lack of clinical advantage compared with other agents; in the case of Byetta, managed care organizations that exclude this drug cite lack of clinical advantage or high cost." GLP-1 Analogues vs. DPP-IV Inhibitors - Which Class Will Change the Face of the Diabetes Market? is based on a U.S. survey of 73 primary care physicians, 72 endocrinologists, and 21 managed care pharmacy directors. Their responses were compared to assess similarities and differences of opinion regarding clinical, economic, and scientific factors. About Physician & Payer Forum Physician & Payer Forum is a primary research service from Decision Resources that offers access to high volume-prescribing physicians, specialists, and managed care organization representatives in the United States; analysis of events and survey participants' responses to them; insight into prescribing patterns; and an examination of the implications of events and issues for the pharmaceutical market. About Decision Resources Decision Resources, Inc. (http://www.decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services, and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and master their chosen markets. All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. For more information, contact: Elizabeth Marshall Decision Resources, Inc. 781-296-2563 emarshall@dresources.com