Diabetes is listed as the fifth largest killer in the United States, but that statistic is somewhat misleading because many people with the disease die from diabetes-related complications, such as heart attack or stroke. Because of this, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly lobbied Congress to include a provision in the U.S. Health law that will prompt doctors to recognize diabetes as the cause of death in patients more frequently, according to a recent article from Bloomberg.
More diabetes-related death diagnosis could help lead to better treatments for the disease and help the drugmaker grow its bottom line. That’s because those statistics are a major factor for public health officials to consider when allocating research dollars. It may also lead to health systems placing a greater emphasis on diabetes in comparison to other top diseases and killers. More awareness leads to early detection for more people with the disease, which leads to a greater number of people diagnosed with the disease. A large number of people with Type 2 diabetes do not even know they have the disease.
The new provision may also require states to publish reports on what they are doing to improve diabetes care, which could lead medical schools to improve training in such areas.
The new initiative, combined with an increased prevalence of the disease, could translate into big bucks for the company. One analyst quoted in the story said Novo’s insulin sales could double from $2 billion in 2008 to $4 billion by 2018.
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