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Estimated potential worldwide market of $1.0 billion
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for roughly 90% to 95% of diagnosed diabetes cases worldwide, is Type 2 diabetes—a condition where the body either does not produce enough insulin or its cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is required to transport glucose from the blood into the cells. When the body does not perform this function, glucose accumulates in the blood instead of entering the cells, resulting in hyperglycemia. This can starve the body’s cells for energy, and over time, injure the eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart. |
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If present at all, symptoms of Type 2 diabetes may include fatigue, blurred vision, frequent or slow-healing infections, erectile dysfunction, or increased thirst, urination, and appetite. Long-term complications of Type 2 diabetes may include diabetic retinopathy (eye disease), diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage), damage to blood vessels and circulation, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease. A diabetic coma could occur as an emergency complication. Due in large part to an increase in obesity, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has tripled in the last 30 years. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, diabetes now afflicts more than 20.8 million U.S. citizens, and in 2002, was estimated to cost the U.S. $132 billion. Globally, in 2002, spending on oral diabetes drugs and injected insulin alone was $12.5 billion. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the global prevalence of diabetes at more than 180 million people, a number likely to more than double by 2030.
The GLP-1 therapeutic peptide occurs naturally in the human body. It is derived from proglucagon—a hormone secreted by the small and large intestines—and essentially serves to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and control appetite. It can be used to help treat Type 2 diabetes by decreasing both weight gain and the incidence of hypoglycemia that can arise as side effects of current diabetes treatments, such as insulin or sulfonylurea. Specialized intestinal endocrine cells secrete GLP-1 after meals in response to food intake. It controls the body’s glucose levels (the basic fuel for bodily cells) by stimulating the release and synthesis of insulin, reducing glucagon secretion, and mediating appetite. To regulate these functions, GLP-1 triggers a feeling of satiety in the brain. |
