Diabetes Drug Byetta Linked to Pancreatitis

Courtney Mills

Contributor

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The FDA has reviewed 30 cases of acute pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta, a drug used to treat type II diabetes. The agency suspects a link between Byetta and pancreatitis in some of these cases.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals will be updating the information about acute pancreatitis in the PRECAUTIONS section of the Byetta label. Patients on Byetta should be alert for any signs of pancreatitis, such as vomiting and persistent severe abdominal cramps. If patients on Byetta experience these symptoms, discontinue use immediately.

Byetta is taken as an injection, and has been shown to cause weight loss in addition to helping with the symptoms of type II diabetes.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.