In 2006, a new class of medicine for Type 2 diabetes was
introduced to the U.S. market. Called DPP-4 inhibitors, these
drugs work in a way that is different from any previous diabetes
treatment. Sitagliptin (brand name Januvia) was the first drug
in this class to be approved; it can be used alone or in
combination with other oral diabetes drugs. Saxagliptin
(Onglyza), another DPP-4 inhibitor, received approval in July
2009. At the turn of the 20th century, several different
researchers were examining the role of the intestines and the
pancreas in diabetes. Research soon demonstrated, through
experiments with animals and autopsies of people who had died of
diabetes complications, that Type 1 diabetes was caused by a
problem with the pancreas. After extracts of the pancreas were
shown to treat diabetes, a research team at the University of
Toronto (Frederick Banting and Charles Best) isolated insulin in
1921. Further experiments went on to explore the relationship
between the pancreas and the intestines. Some o