Byetta: New Weapon in Public Health

For years Bronx doctor John Eng tried convincing the medical world that a rare substance called exanatide (found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a lizard from the southwestern United States) helped diabetes patients reduce blood sugar levels, as well as lose weight.

This is contrary to insulin, which tends to make patients gain weight--even though diabetes is generally caused by too much weight to begin with.

Public Health Promise

Exanatide, marketed as Byetta, is about as close to a dream drug as you can get. Byetta not only normalizes blood-sugar levels, but also functions as an appetite suppressant. Only recently released, doctors are already getting requests for Byetta strictly as a diet drug.

According to the New York Times, early users of Byetta are reporting weight loss and healthy blood-sugar levels.

Byetta Drawbacks

The major drawback of Byetta, one that most users seem more than happy to tolerate, is nausea. But many reports maintain that users build tolerance to it.

The other drawback is the delivery method. Byetta must be refrigerated at all times, and more importantly, injected twice daily. The cost of two daily injections comes to about $170 a month, but most health insurance plans cover it. Public health careerists familiar with Byetta are already concerned about off-prescription usage. The drug hasn't been adequately researched to understand how it may affect patients who use it only as a diet drug.

Byetta Research

Some research has shown that Byetta may cause thyroid cancer in lab rats, though this may have absolutely no relation to consequences in humans.

For now, Amylin and Lilly, the two companies behind Byetta, emphatically dissuade people without diabetes from using the pill. According to the Times, the companies say they have no plans to study Byetta as a weight-loss treatment in people with normal blood sugar.

"We do not nod and wink to off-label," said Michael Quattro, vice president for marketing at Amylin. "It's the wrong thing to do for the patient."

Public Health Jobs and Career

Part of a public health career can be helping to disseminate information about new drugs like Byetta. Public health jobs are often devoted to fighting against national health problems, such as diabetes.

Sources
New York Times