Singapore: China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) issued an Import Drug License (IDL) for Takeda's type 2 diabetes drug Nesina (alogliptin).

Orally administered dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i), Nesina has been designed to slow the inactivation of incretin hormones GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide).

The drug was approved and launched in Japan in 2010 and it is now available in the US as a monotherapy and also in fixed-dose combinations with metformin (Kazano) and pioglitazone (Oseni).

The US FDA approved the medication in January this year, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults, as adjuncts to diet and exercise.