FDA Approved Diabetes Drug Despite Hints at Cancer Risk

Business Week

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is defending its decision in late January to approve a new diabetes drug, Victoza (liraglutide), even though animal studies suggest it might increase the risk for a rare thyroid cancer.

Victoza, among a class of medicines called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, is meant to be used along with diet and exercise to control blood sugar by helping the pancreas make more insulin after a person eats.

FDA officials explained the agency's stance on the drug in a Perspective article published online Feb. 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More to the story HERE.