In the $20 billion diabetes market, when drugs make their way onto the scene, it's a head-turning event. So far, one drug is gaining ground and two of them are raising interest.

Januvia, manufactured by Merck, was recently approved for the treatment of diabetes. Januvia is used with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes. Januvia lowers blood sugar when blood sugar is high, especially after a meal. It also lowers blood sugar between meals and helps to improve the levels of insulin produced by your own body after a meal. The drug is unlikely to cause your blood sugar to be lowered to a dangerous level because it does not work when your blood sugar is low. Januvia faces potential competition from an experimental drug, Galvus. The drugs are similar in many respects, including their status as once-a-day pills, and their ability to lower blood-sugar levels in diabetics while helping them to lose weight, or at least to avoid gaining it. The FDA delayed its decision on Galvus, so we may be waiting till the first half of 2007 to see it in action.

Acomplia, manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, is in hot pursuit of FDA approval. Acomplia is primarily a treatment for diabetics, but the drug is unusually multi-faceted. It was created to help people quit smoking and lose fat by blocking circuitry in the brain that gives the body cravings. The drug works by blocking the same circuitry in the brain that gives pot-smokers the munchies. The drug is expected to receive FDA approval in the first half of 2007.