Physicians Not Prescribing Januvia, Byetta Instead of Avandia to Type II Diabetes Patients

According to Decision Resources, physicians seem resisted to using Merck's Januvia or Amylin/Eli Lilly's Byetta as a replacement for GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia.

Instead of responding to recent safety warnings associated with Avendia by using the Januvia and Byetta as first line defense against type II diabetes, most doctors have responded by using the drugs as second- and third-line treatment. Decision Resources says that according to "GLP-1 Analogues vs. DPP-IV Inhibitors - Which Class Will Change the Face of the Diabetes Market?", a report published in the new Physicians & Payer Forum, "clinicians are more like to switch patients to Takeda's Actos than to Byetta or Januiva." Physicians who participated in a survey for this report estimate that 52% of their Anandia taking patients will continue treatment with the drug.

Only 15% of the patients were expected to be switched to medications that contain Actos (Takeda's Actos and Deutact, Takeda/Andrx's Actoplus Met). Physician & Payer Forum is a research service provided by Decision Resources. Decision Resources says that the Forum offers insight into the patterns of prescriptions that doctors make for their patients, explanations of events and issues in the pharmaceutical market; and analyses of the events that shape prescription patterns and surveys the responses of those participating in surveys.

Despite Januvia and Byetta's abilities to treat type II diabetes by targeting the incretin pathways, most physicians don't see treatment using these drugs as being equal to treatment using Avandia. Decision Resources says that the report finds that "80% of endocrinologists and half of PCPs do not view the two drugs as equivalent therapies" and that "private managed care organizations are more likely to provide formulary coverage for Byetta than for Januvia."