Merck Launches Global Patient Registry Supporting Expanded Commitment to Real-World Outcomes Research in Type 2 Diabetes
New Research Initiative Seeks to Identify Unmet Needs and Address Key Gaps in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes
WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., June 13, 2014 –(BUSINESS WIRE)– Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the launch of a global registry to evaluate the experiences and outcomes of approximately 20,000 patients with type 2 diabetes in real-world settings over three years. The registry is part of Merck’s new global research initiative evaluating outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes in everyday clinical practice. The research initiative and the new registry reflect Merck’s broader commitment to generate real-world evidence to help advance diabetes care.
The type 2 diabetes registry will be conducted at more than 900 sites across the United States, Germany, France and Japan. Led by external experts in each country, the registry will evaluate blood glucose control, healthcare resource utilization, medication adherence, quality of life and patient satisfaction.
“Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease that affects an estimated 382 million people worldwide1,” said Lawrence Blonde, M.D., chair of the Merck type 2 diabetes registry, and director of the Ochsner Diabetes Clinical Research Unit in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. “By evaluating a full range of data, the Merck registry will provide valuable insights into opportunities to improve the care of people with type 2 diabetes on both regional and global levels.”
“Real-world research is a meaningful assessment of the day-to-day management of patients with diabetes—and is an important complement to clinical trials as we seek to identify unmet needs and new solutions to help improve patient outcomes, access and adherence,” Peter Stein, M.D., vice president, diabetes and endocrinology, Merck Research Laboratories. “We are thrilled to partner with our academic collaborators on this initiative, and to build on Merck’s leadership in diabetes and our commitment to scientific innovation.”
About Merck’s type 2 diabetes registry
This multinational prospective registry is designed to generate comprehensive, real-world data on patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The registry will utilize various data sources, such as surveys, and administrative claims data in the United States. Through these various data sources, the registry will help to identify gaps in type 2 diabetes management and provide other important information.
Merck’s commitment to diabetes
Through these and many more initiatives, on our own and with others, Merck is strengthening its leadership in diabetes to deliver a broad portfolio of solutions to help improve the management of diabetes.
About type 2 diabetes
Twenty-nine million people in the United States2 and 382 million globally have diabetes,1 and 90% to 95% of these people have type 2 diabetes.2 The number of patients with diabetes globally is expected to exceed 500 million by 2035.1 One in three American men and 2 in 5 American women born in 2000 will develop diabetes sometime during their lifetime.3 Approximately 50 percent of patients globally remain undiagnosed.1 The current global healthcare expenditures are approximately $548 billion.1
When someone has type 2 diabetes, the body does not make enough insulin and/or the insulin that the body makes does not work properly. This causes blood sugar levels to become too high, and the body may also keep making sugar even though it does not need it.4,5 Once a person has type 2 diabetes, it does not go away, and having diabetes can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease and stroke.4,5
About Merck
Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Merck Forward-Looking Statement
This news release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Merck’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; Merck’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of Merck patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
Merck undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Merck’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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1 International Diabetes Federation. Diabetes Atlas, 6th Edition. Found at: http://www.idf.org/sites/default/files/EN_6E_Atlas_Full_0.pdf. Accessed 18 April 2014.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2014.
3 Narayan KMV, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, Sorensen SW, Williamson DF. Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA 2003 October 8;290(14):1884-1890.
4 American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2014. Diabetes Care. 2014; 37(suppl 1):S14–S80.
5 Ali MK, Bullard KM, Saaddine JB, Cowie CC, Imperatore G, Gregg EW. Achievement of Goals in U.S. Diabetes Care, 1999–2010. New England Journal of Medicine. 2013;368:1613–1624.
SOURCE: Merck