Welcome to The Question of the Month.

This part of the website gives you the chance to ask Dr. Rybacki a question about your medicines, or medicines that a loved one might be taking. To submit a question for possible selection, please click here.

A:  Januvia (generically called sitagliptin [sight ah glyp tinn) is a new type 2 diabetes treatment (for those who do not require inhaled insulin or insulin shots). Merck and company makes it. This drug is actually the first member of a new family. The name is a little complicated but it is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. I like to call them DPP-4 inhibitors and we all should know that this is a treatment for people living with diabetes who do not require insulin (what your doctor would call type 2 diabetes).       

Q: I saw that Januvia was approved by the FDA. Can you tell us some more about this?

1. American Diabetes Association National meeting June 9-13, 2006 Washington, DC.

2. FDA New Molecular Entity Approvals list: as accessed at www.fda.gov/cder/rdmt/InternetNME06.htm

3. FDA press release October 17, 2006 as accessed at www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01492.htm

4. Full FDA prescribing information as accessed from FDA and abbreviated at www.januvia.com 10/2006 revision