Amylin Reports Positive Results for Symlin

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported positive results this week for its leading drug, Symlin, in treating patients with Type 1, or juvenile-onset, diabetes. The once-highflying San Diego company, which was forced to lay off 85% of its staff after a disappointing trial last year, believes that it is back on track to seek Food and Drug Administration approval by the middle of next year for the product, a synthetic version of the natural human hormone amylin. In a one-year trial, patients were given Symlin along with their regular doses of insulin. As a group, these patients showed significantly improved control of their blood sugar when compared with patients who used insulin alone. In addition, patients who responded to Symlin lost weight while insulin-only patients gained--a potentially important finding because obesity is related to many of the complications of diabetes, including heart disease. Two months ago, the company reported similar results in Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. The findings are good news for those who bought Amylin stock at its historical low of 31 cents a year ago. The stock fell 2 cents to close at $5.81 on the Nasdaq Small-Cap Market.