| ISMagazine.com | Medicine, Health, and Fitness |
December, 1999 |
Hoechst Marion Roussel Launches Amaryl.com to Aid
Health Care Providers Treating Type 2 Diabetes
KANSAS CITY, MO - July 12, 1999 -- Hoechst Marion Roussel, the pharmaceutical company for Hoechst AG, today launched a new Web site for Amaryl(R) (glimepiride tablets), a first-line drug treatment for type 2 diabetes. The site, <http://www.Amaryl.com>, provides health care professionals with a valuable resource for specific product information and for patient education materials to share with their type 2 diabetes patients.
The launch of Amaryl.com addresses the growing desire among physicians for direct access to product information. In addition to product information, highlights include patient guide sheets, a slide kit and a patient history chart for physicians' use.
"Health care providers treating type 2 diabetes have many choices to make, and a demanding schedule," said Breffni Fox, product manager for Amaryl(R). "We want to make sure that they have 24-hour access to the clinical management and product information they need to make informed choices in addition to providing disease-management tools."
Key components of Amaryl.com:
Clinical Resources
o Amaryl(R) at a Glance: Safety profile of Amaryl(R), easy titration, dosing flexibility, pre-clinical trials and clinical studies demonstrating effective glucose control, and once-daily dosing.
o Product Information: cost comparison, the Amaryl(R) monograph, AHFS product information form, and a pharmacology Q&A.
o Clinical Management for Type 2 Diabetes: clinical overview of type 2 diabetes and management strategies.
Professional Resources
o Customized "Patient Guide Sheets." These non-product-specific fact sheets, ranging from "Weight Loss Tips" to "Diabetes and Heart Disease," are an educational service for all patients with diabetes, not just those taking Amaryl(R) (glimepiride tablets). Physicians can pull the appropriate "guide" sheet (from a database of 22) and send a patient home with a personalized fact sheet about their specific diabetes-related condition.
o Amaryl(R) Slide Presentation Kit. A summary of clinical information on Amaryl(R) and its role in the management of type 2 diabetes that may be downloaded for personal Amaryl(R) presentations.
o Diabetes Patient Chart. A comprehensive, printable chart for recording patient history from one check-up to the next.
The launch of Amaryl.com is in keeping with Hoechst Marion Roussel's commitment to going beyond medicine to health(TM). By providing accessible product information and educational tools to aid health care providers in their daily work, Hoechst Marion Roussel seeks to positively impact treatment practices in the type 2-diabetes arena.
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association. It is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and education. Formerly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes, type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, affecting about 15.7 million Americans. Approximately 700,000 people will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes this year.
Type 2 diabetes results from the body's inability to process insulin at an effective rate and cell resistance to insulin action. Therefore, increasing insulin production and reducing insulin resistance are key therapies in treatment of this disease. Amaryl(R) helps the body produce more insulin to reduce blood sugar.
Amaryl(R) (glimepiride tablets) is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to lower blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone. It is also approved for use as an adjunct to diet and exercise in combination with insulin during second-line therapy, and recently received approval for second-line combination use with the type 2 diabetes drug metformin. The most common adverse reactions include dizziness, asthenia, headache, nausea and hypoglycemia. Combined use of Amaryl(R) with metformin or insulin may increase the potential for hypoglycemia. Amaryl(R) is contraindicated in-patients with known hypersensitivity to the drug or with diabetic ketoacidosis, with or without coma, which should be treated with insulin.