Novartis: Time is on our side

Novartis AG's vildagliptin (LAF237) may have missed its endpoint of non-inferiority to metformin, but the company remains confident that the dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor to treat Type II diabetes will hit the mark at the end of the ongoing extension of trial. The key is that it is a disease-modifying agent that spares beta cells.

Novartis (NVS; SWX:NOVN, Basel, Switzerland) expects that as patients on metformin lose beta cells over the course of the extension study which is adding another 52 weeks of treatment, their HbA1c control will deteriorate, spokesperson John Gilardi told BioCentury. At the same time, patients on vildagliptin should retain more beta cells and hence better glucose control, he said. ...