By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY
Novartis, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, has launched new Type-2 diabetes and hypertension drugs -- Galvus/Galvusmet and Exforge HCT -- in Accra.
Manager of Novartis Ghana, Roland Hammond, explained that the reason for introducing the drugs is to help diabetic patients who are also hypertensive to continue living without any risk of cardiac arrest.
“Most diabetic patients are required to eat constantly, which can lead to weight-gain and further put them at high risk of stroke, heart-attack and hypertension.
“These drugs are therefore specifically manufactured to cater for all these issues. This means that a diabetic patient with hypertension should take a prescribed combination of the two drugs,” he said.
“The differences between these drugs and those already on the market are that they do not make you gain weight, they can be taken before you eat and they can be combined with melformin.”
He added that Exforge HTC is a combination of three drugs that used to be taken separately –Amlodipine, Valsartan and Hydorchlorothiazide.
“This means that patients who used to take the three prescribed medications will now be given one dose of the new drug.”
Medical practitioner at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Dr. Ben Eghan, stated that figures from a research in 2008 put Ghana’s diabetic rate at 9% and showed the number of people with Type-2 Diabetes (T2DM) is increasing.
He encouraged Ghanaians to live healthy lives in order to have long life-spans.
“Healthy eating, limitation of alcohol intake, physical activity -- at least 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise four to seven days a week -- and the cessation of smoking are some of the things that we can do to have a lower risk of acquiring diabetes, thereby extending our life-spans,” he said.
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