Australian scientists develop potential "blockbuster" diabetes drug

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian researchers Monday said they had developed a drug which could potentially spell an end to a life-threatening condition caused by diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses.

Scientists from the University of Melbourne and the city's St Vincent's Hospital said the drug had been shown in animal trials to prevent fibrosis, the build-up of irreversible scarring on internal organs.

There are currently no treatments on the market for fibrosis and the new drug, called FT-11, could be as important a discovery as blood pressure drugs if effective, said Professor Darren Kelly of the University of Melbourne.

"It would be an enormous blockbuster drug with an initial market of around 2.0 billion dollars," he said.

Kelly said while the...