Merck Wins Approval For Diabetes Drug Janumet

Merck & Co. won American approval to sell Janumet, the first pill to treat type-2 diabetes by targeting all causes of the disease.

Janumet combines Merck's Januvia, approved in America last year, with the older drug metformin for treating type-2 diabetes. The new pill was cleared for sale by the Food and Drug Administration and will be available this month, Merck spokeswoman Amy Rose said in an e-mailed statement Saturday.

"It is important mostly as a convenience and from a co-pay perspective," said Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan in a March 29 telephone interview.

Januvia, which costs about $5 a pill, is one of the most important new drugs developed by Merck, the third-largest American maker of prescription drugs, and has accounted for about 30 percent of its spending on marketing to doctors since its approval, said Ryan.