JAPAN'S SANKYO AND US METABASIS IN DIABETES DRUG CLINICAL TRIAL

Japanese pharmaceuticals major Sankyo and US drug company Metabasis Therapeutics have announced the start of Phase IIb clinical trials of a compound to treat Type 2 diabetes, known as CS-917. The Japanese company originally licensed the product from Metabasis, and is to develop and market the drug globally. Company sources have stated that the double-blind trials will monitor haemogloblin A1c levels in order to evaluate the effectiveness of CS-917 in lowering blood glucose levels. According to initial test results, the compound appears to alleviate liver gluconeogenesis, which is responsible for excessive production of glucose among patients with Type 2 diabetes.

The treatment, if successful, is to be one of a new series of similar drugs, which have been termed fructose 1-6 bisphosphatase inhibitors. Such a new pipeline would benefit the company substantially. Sankyo's lipid-lowering agent Mevalotin was Japan's top-selling drug in 2003, although company results for the first half of the current fiscal year indicated an overall 2.2% revenue decline in the period.