Shhh. Big Pharma scientists hard at work. On what, you ask? Why, on Novo's new "baby" - a drug designed to treat type 2 diabetes. Liraglutide, a hormone analogue, is supposed to improve blood sugar control. It's also supposed to get you that coveted magic bullet (a la Byetta): weight loss. Ooh, baby. Now that's medication!

Novo Nordisk has been working on Liraglutide for a while now. Here's the latest: Novo announced Monday that two Phase III studies were successful in demonstrating the aforementioned blood sugar control and weight reduction. Novo is riding high on the news: its shares rose six percent on the announcement. According to a pharmaceutical industry analyst quoted by Reuters, the shares surged so healthily because the positive news was expected.

The powers-that-be at the drug giant say they hope Liraglutide can be submitted for regulatory approval by mid-2008. They hope it will become another blockbuster, with estimated annual sales topping one billion. Stay tuned.

A small molecule has been identified that controls diabetes in mice and may pave the way to the development of easier treatment for adult-onset diabetes.

This key molecule, called Boc5, can stimulate insulin function and reduce body weight by 20%. The molecule stimulates the production of the glucagon-like peptide1 (GLP1), responsible for metabolizing glucose. The study intended to discover ways to sensitize insulin by stimulating production of GLP1. Boc5 is not powerful enough to become a diabetes or weight loss drug. But researchers suggest that similar compounds could join the latest generation of diabetes drugs, called "incretin mimetics." The first FDA-approved incretin mimetic was Byetta. A second such drug, with the generic name liraglutide, is in clinical trials.

The problem with the existing FDA approved incretin mimetic treatments is that they are large molecules that must be administered through injection. Boc5 is a small fry with big potential. Being a smaller molecule gives hope for a new generation in diabetes treatment in the form of a pill many of us would be happy to swallow.

The journal Diabetes Care reports obese adults who lost a substantial amount of weight through lifestyle modification and dieting regained less weight when they took the diet drug Xenical, This approach was also associated with a reduced occurrence of type 2 diabetes.

Xenical burns fat while you are eating by inhibiting the absorption of dietary fat from your food. Studies have shown that the drug promotes more weight loss than lifestyle modification alone. The study examined the effectst of Xenical in preventing weight regain in 383 obese adults who had lost an average of 31.7 pounds (14.4 kg) on an 8-week protein-rich, very-low-energy diet. The 309 participants who lost 5% or more of their bodyweight then received lifestyle counseling for 3 years while taking either Xenical or a placebo pill daily. Both groups regained some weight. Xenical patients regained an average of 10 pounds, while placebo patients put back an average of 15 pounds.

Most importantly, during the 3-year study period only 8 of 153 in the Xenical group developed type 2 diabetes compared with 17 of 156 in the placebo group. That's remarkable. Twice as many people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, in addition to regaining one and a half times the weight. As an aside (and not to be a whistleblower) but one of the warnings on the label says the drug should not be taken for more than 2 years. Just an FYI.