The Motley Fool's health-care show Market Checkup focuses this week on diabetes, one of America's growing health-care concerns. There are two versions of this chronic disease, the more prevalent being type 2 diabetes, which makes up about 95% of all cases. Because of the overwhelming patient population, type 2 diabetes receives the majority of attention from Big Pharma companies.
Diabetes is no small problem. In 2010, one in 10 adults had diabetes, and more troubling, more than one in four senior citizens suffered from it. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death, and there are 2 million new cases in America every year, leading analysts to project spending on diabetes to approach $60 billion in just five years. And this isn't just an American problem: 370 million suffer from diabetes around the world.
In this video, health-care analysts David Williamson and Max Macaluso discuss the cutting edge of insulin treatments, including a new long-acting insulin by Sanofi. The pharma currently dominates the insulin market, but generic competition is on the way. Watch as David and Max discuss whether Sanofi's newest insulin in development, U300, can use better performance to hold on to the company's market share.
