By Andrea Hargraves 
A new drug against type 2 diabetes was approved on Monday by Anvisa, the national health surveillance agency.
The drug is based on the substance tirzepatide, which controls blood sugar in people with the disease. Diabetes is a disease known for persistently high blood sugar levels, known as hyperglycemia.
This is caused by a deficiency of insulin, the hormone that maintains glucose and blood sugar metabolism. Without treatment, a person can become blind, suffer from kidney problems, such as kidney failure, and have limbs amputated.
When treated, the drug can lead to the opposite condition, low blood sugar, which is called hypoglycemia.
Retiree Rosa Luisa Riberio went through exactly this when she began treatment for type 2 diabetes.
But an injectable pen-shaped medication called Ozempic has improved her quality of life.
According to Anvisa, tirizipatide significantly reduces the amount of glycated hemoglobin, an important indicator of diabetes.
This helps reduce the risk of microvascular disease, blindness, kidney failure and amputation.
The new drug, branded Monjaro, is also a pen-shaped injection, similar to Ozempic. It also helps with weight loss, in addition to controlling blood sugar levels. Only better.
This is what the endocrinologist and coordinator of the Brazilian Clinical Research Center João Lindolfo Cunha Borges explains.
But the doctor warns that even if the new weight loss drug is approved, it is not the solution to all problems.
The new drug is not yet available in pharmacies because it will undergo a price study, and then be released on the manufacturer’s production line.
It is estimated that approximately 463 million people in the world, aged 20 to 79 years, suffer from diabetes.
Of this total, type 2 diabetes is responsible for about 90% of cases. In Brazil, there are approximately 17 million adults infected with this disease.