Which pharmaceutical company developed the first widely approved GLP-1 medicine, exenatide, marketed as Byetta?

Amylin Pharmaceuticals developed exenatide, marketed as Byetta, the first widely approved GLP-1 medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Byetta in 2005 for adults with type 2 diabetes. Its active ingredient, exenatide, was based on exendin-4, a peptide identified in the saliva of the Gila monster. Amylin developed the drug with partners Eli Lilly and Alkermes.

Exenatide belongs to the glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor agonist class. These medicines help regulate blood glucose and can reduce appetite, although different drugs in the class have different approvals, doses, and effects.

A common mix-up is crediting Eli Lilly alone because Lilly co-developed and marketed Byetta. Amylin was the biotechnology company behind the original development and was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2012. Later GLP-1 blockbusters made Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly especially prominent in market-cap comparisons.