April 7, 2007 - 2:23pm
On April 2, 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Janumet, a new drug that treats type 2 diabetes. Janumet combines sitagliptin (the active ingredient in Januvia) and metformin (a commonly prescribed antihyperglycemic agent) to better control blood sugar in patients who do not respond to monotherapy with either drug. Merck & Co. is the manufacturer of Janumet.
According to Merck approximately 21 million people in the US have diabetes, with type 2 diabetes comprising about 90 percent of the total. Type 2 diabetes is usually treated with diet and exercise. If lifestyle modifications fail to control blood sugar, an oral anti-diabetic medication is then prescribed.
For more information, please see the Janumet website.
Pill Identification - JANUMET
50 mg sitagliptin/500 mg metformin - light pink capsule-shaped film-coated tablets imprinted 575
50 mg sitagliptin/1000 mg metformin - red capsule-shaped film-coated tablets imprinted 577
Patient Information - JANUMET