Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN) and Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)
said the European Commission approved its type 2 diabetes treatment
Byetta as an add-on therapy to basal insulin.
The drug makers said Byetta with titrated basal insulin improves
glycemic control after meals, and common side effects include
nausea, diarrhea, dizziness and headache.
Lilly and Amylin in November severed their nine-year-old
partnership that was supposed to furnish a blockbuster treatment
for diabetes but was instead plagued by disappointing sales,
regulatory troubles and company disputes, The Wall Street Journal
reported. Amylin agreed to pay $250 million to Lilly upfront and as
much as $1.2 billion more from sales of a molecule called exenatide
that lowers the blood sugar of diabetics. That molecule is in the
drug Byetta.
Amylin on Friday said it will assume responsibility for
exenatide-product commercialization outside of the U.S. on a
market-by-market basis by the end of 2013. During the transition
period, Amylin will work with Lilly on plans for markets outside
the U.S.
Amylin and Lilly shares closed Thursday at $15.41 and $39.81,
respectively. Both were inactive premarket.
-By Melodie Warner, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2283; melodie.warner@dowjones.com