On Tuesday, October 17, the clouds parted and the medicinal gatekeepers welcomed the birth of a little bundle of joy from Merck & Co, named Januvia. Weighing in at $4.86 per tablet, and guaranteed to control blood sugars without the undesirable side effect of weight gain, Merck said Januvia would be in pharmacies in the near future.

This is a new class of pills called DPP-4, or dipeptidyl peptidase IV. These are inhibitors that work to enhance the body's own ability to lower blood sugar. In clinical trials, patients did not gain weight. Yippee! Taken once a day, Januvia is expected to face competition from Novartis AG's rival medicine Galvus, which is awaiting FDA approval, possibly next month. The first generation of drugs designed to combat insulin resistance notoriously caused water retention and gain weight.

The empirical evidence is shining through already. A survey of about 60 physicians, conducted by Reuters Primary Research, shows the vast majority of doctors intend to start prescribing Januvia and Galvus right away. Dr. Stuart Weiss, a New York University Medical Center endocrinologist, said the drug's ability to control blood sugar spikes without added weight gain was a big draw. "In the face of a diabetes epidemic, this drug ... is particularly an inviting choice," said Weiss, who has consulted for several Merck competitors, including Novartis. If the near $5 a day price tag doesn't send your budget into a tailspin, you might have the shelf space for a DPP-4 in your near future. Praise be the DPP, for the sugars will come down and the scales won't creep up!