The Gila monster finding led to Byetta, a synthetic version of what is found in the lizards.

FORBES: Drug Safety

The drug is a synthetic form of GLP-1 and was originally derived from the venomous saliva of the Gila monster.

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Byetta is a synthetic version of the Gila monster chemical he found.

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Worst hit will be Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which developed Bydureon and its predecessor, the twice-a-day Byetta, from a compound found in Gila monster saliva.

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Bydureon is a longer-acting version of Byetta, the first GLP-1 drug, which was based on a chemical in Gila monster spit that is similar to GLP-1.

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It's known as an incretin mimetic and is a synthetic version of a compound found in the venom of a Gila monster, a lizard in the southwestern United States.

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But in the early 1990s endocrinologist John Eng at the VA Medical Center in the Bronx found a chemical in venomous Gila monster saliva that mimicked the effects of GLP-1.

FORBES: Drug Safety