Victoza (liraglutide) is by far Novo Nordisk’s fastest growing diabetes drug with a reported 185% growth in the first nine months of 2011. Introduced in Europe during the last quarter of 2009 and during the first quarter of 2010 in the US, Victoza quickly gained considerable market share with over 400 million dollars in sales in 2010 and over 670 million dollars in sales during the first nine months of 2011. If those figures aren’t enough to impress you, Victoza’s future looks even brighter now with its new celebrity...

After days of rumors regarding Paula Deen’s diabetes diagnosis, the woman dubbed the Queen of Southern Cuisine has announced that she and her sons have partnered up with Novo Nordisk to launch Diabetes in a New Light™, a national initiative to help adults find simple ways to manage everyday challenges associated with type 2 diabetes. As part of the launch Paula Deen is sharing sharing her personal diabetes story for the first time including the fact that she is being treated with Novo Nordisk’s type 2 diabetes...

Victoza, Novo Nordisks best selling type 2 diabetes drug is now commercially available in China. Victoza, (liraglutide injection), the first once-daily human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog, was approved for type 2 diabetes by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration in March 2011. Victoza is indicated in China as an add-on to metformin or sulphonylurea (SU) in people with insufficient glycaemic control despite maximal tolerated dose of monotherapy with metformin or SU. Victoza has been proven to lower blood...

Following a review of new data from a  52-week clinical trial, the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion on the usage of Novo Nordisk’s basal insulin analogue, Levemir, as add-on therapy to Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 analogue, Victoza, in combination with metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes.   The CHMP also adopted a positive opinion for Victoza. Although the CHMP did not consider the results of the study sufficient to support a new indication for Victoza, the Committee...

New data presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) shows a significantly higher proportion of patients reached target HbA1c levels of  <7% when Victoza (liraglutide [rDNA origin] injection) was administrated early in the treatment of type 2 diabetes to patients who had not received treatment before or had previously received only one oral anti-diabetic drug (OAD). Findings also suggest early use with Victoza provides greater clinical benefit and potential improvement in beta-cell function, as compared...

Last month, the annual American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions was a busy time for Novo Nordisk; with almost three-quarters of revenue coming from their diabetes products, they had a lot of news to share and studies to publicize. News in the clinical world, though, is different than news in the rest of the world, and indeed much of the research coming out of Novo Nordisk felt more like anti-news: “Dog bites man. All is normal.” In other words, the big releases regarding Novo Nordisk’s most promising new offerings—the...

New data from two extension studies presented by Novo Nordisk at the 71st Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) show that Victoza (liraglutide [rDNA origin] injection), taken once-daily, in combination with metformin and/or sulfonylurea, helped patients achieve blood sugar control after switching from other commonly used type 2 diabetes therapies Byetta (exenatide) and Januvia (sitagliptin). Although not a weight loss product, the data also demonstrate that patients experienced weight loss when...

Novo Nordisk issued a letter reminding healthcare professionals of important safety information about the type 2 diabetes drug Victoza (liraglutide [rDNA origin]). The letter was issued because a recent assessment of healthcare providers showed that some primary care providers are not fully aware of the serious risks associated with the use of Victoza. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required Novo Nordisk to communicate the following risk information to potential prescribers. Victoza causes dose-dependent and treatment-duration-dependent...

A new meta study presented by Novo Nordisk at the 20th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) shows that regardless of baseline A1C, once-daily Victoza (liraglutide [rDNA origin] injection) 1.8 mg consistently helped more patients achieve blood sugar control than some other commonly used type 2 diabetes therapies. The study determined that all diabetes therapies improved blood sugar control across all baseline A1C categories, with greater reductions at higher baseline...

The Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved Victoza for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease in China, and Victoza offers a unique treatment option by effectively reducing HbA1c and weight with a low risk of hypoglycemia in people with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by oral anti-diabetic agents. Novo Nordisk expects to launch Victoza in China in the second half of 2011.