DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMLN) said its investigational drug metreleptin showed promise in treatment of lipodystrophy, a rare condition characterized by abnormalities in fat-tissue distribution that put patients at risk for serious diseases. Earlier on Friday an injectable diabetes drug being developed by Amylin, Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) and Alkermes Inc. (ALKS) received a positive opinion from European Union regulators for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes when used in combination with oral therapies. Shares of Amylin were recently up 10.4% at $12.43 in early trading. The study is being conducted by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Results will be presented Sunday at the 20th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in San Diego. In the study, which has been in progress for more than 10 years, NIH researchers are examining the effect of metreleptin on several metabolic abnormalities, including diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia -- high levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream. The drug developer said the long-term study indicated that treatment with metreleptin resulted in "robust reductions" in average blood sugar and triglycerides. Improvements were seen at four months and they generally were sustained for up to several years. -By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com
