(RxWiki News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a diabetes medication for use in children.
This injection is found under the brand name Victoza (active ingredient liraglutide). The FDA approved it to treat children who have type 2 diabetes and are 10 years old or older.
This is the first non-insulin diabetes medication to be approved for children since the approval of metformin in 2000, according to the FDA. Liraglutide was approved for use in adults in 2010.
Type 2 diabetes is actually the most common form of diabetes. It happens because the pancreas cannot make enough insulin or the body does not respond to insulin the way it should — making it difficult to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
This condition is not limited to adults. Type 2 diabetes can occur in children. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Diabetes Report Card, an estimated 5,000-plus new type 2 diabetes diagnoses are made among children younger than 20 each year.
Victoza is injected under the fatty layer of the skin (in the stomach area, thigh or upper arm) once a day. It works by helping the pancreas release the appropriate amount of insulin when blood sugar levels are high.
Liraglutide is not approved to treat type 1 diabetes or those with diabetic ketoacidosis.
This medication comes with a boxed warning regarding the risk for possible thyroid tumors. Liraglutide is not to be used if you or a family member has or has had medullary thyroid carcinoma. In addition, if you have an endocrine system condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, this medication is not recommended.
Common side effects may include nausea, diarrhea and decreased appetite.
This approval was granted to Novo Nordisk.
Ask your health care provider any questions you may have about type 2 diabetes and treatment.
Written By Anyssa Garza, PharmD, BCMAS
