GlaxoSmithKline Submits New Diabetes Treatment

On January 14,London-based GlaxoSmithKline,a leading pharmaceutical and health care company,submitted albiglutide BLA,an investigational once-weekly treatment for adult type 2 diabetes,to the FDA.The drug will also be submitted to the European Union in early 2013.
Albiglutide is a GLP-1 agonist,a biotech drug that is designed for once-weekly subcutaneous dosing.GLP-1 is a peptide,a short chain of amino acids, normally secreted from the gastrointestinal tract during eating which helps release insulin to help control blood sugar.GLP-1 secretion is absent or reduced in those with type 2 diabetes.
While GLP-1 rapidly degrades,the new treatment,albiglutide,has been engineered to have a longer duration of action.It is comprised of two copies of modified human GLP-1 fused in series to human albumin,a protein made by the liver,the company said.
Shares of GlaxoSmithKline closed flat at 44.83 in Thursday trading.
GlaxoSmithKline(GSK)

UC San Diego Study:Prediabetes and Stroke Risk May Be Associated

A new study in the British Medical Journal by researchers at the University of California San Diego found evidence of a link between prediabetes and stroke risk.Prediabetes is the precursor condition for type 2 diabetes and is rampant in the developed world,while spreading through populations in the emerging markets as well.According to the National Diabetes Education Program,an estimated 79 million Americans age 20 and over are prediabetic.In prediabetes,the fasting glucose level is between 100-125 mg/dl.The new study analysed fifteen other studies of a total of 716,000 patients.It showed that patients with a fasting glucose level of 110-125 mg/dl,the upper range of prediabetes,have a 21% greater likelihood of having a stroke.Prediabetes has also been linked to a greater risk of developing heart disease.The good news is,prediabetics who work to reduce their risk factors for type 2 diabetes,such as overeating,poor diet and lack of exercise,have a better than 50% chance of delaying or even preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes.Prediabetes is being taken more and more seriously by health care providers as type 2 diabetes becomes more common,and evidence that prediabetes is harmful in itself gets more voluminous.Health Care Select Sector SPDR(XLV),iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare Sector Index Fund(IYH)