The Motley Fool's health care show "Market Checkup" focuses this week on diabetes, one of America's growing health care concerns. There are 2 versions of this chonic disease -- the more prevalent being type 2 diabetes, which makes up about 95% of all cases. Because of that 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 has diabetes, and more troubling, more than one in four senior citizens, making it the seventh leading cause of death. There are 2 million new cases in America per 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 one of the prominent diabetes drug classes, highlighting both the major players and whether a new drug from Eli Lilly (LLY -1.00%) will disrupt the current standard of care.
Follow David on Twitter: @MotleyDavid.
