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The Jefferson County coroner has confirmed that a 34-year-old Colorado man died this month, days after being bitten by one of his two pet Gila monsters. "I think this case highlights that any venomous animals should be respected," said Dr. Nick Brandehoff, a medical toxicologist and expert in reptile bites with the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation, who was consulted on the Lakewood Gila monster case. Gila monsters are venomous reptiles found in the southwestern United States. While their bites can be painful, they are normally not fatal to humans. Experts say that the last report of a human dying from a...

Millions of diabetes sufferers throughout the world can thank the most unlikely of all medical heroes - our desert-dwelling Gila monster - for a new and effective drug to control their disease. Just given federal approval, the drug - marketed as Byetta - is made from the saliva of the slow-moving, venomous lizard of the American Southwest. "Well, it's weird. You have to wonder how you can go from Gila monster saliva to something that works in humans," said Sandra Leal, a pharmacist and diabetes expert at El Rio Community Health Center. "But when we explain it to patients, we...

WASHINGTON - Type 2 diabetics got a new option to help control their blood sugar Friday, a drug derived from the saliva of the Gila monster — but one that must be injected twice a day. The Food and Drug Administration approved Byetta, known chemically as exenatide, the first in a new class of medications for Type 2 diabetes — but for now, it's supposed to be used together with older diabetes drugs, not alone. Makers Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co. said the prescription drug would begin selling by June 1, but wouldn't provide a price. Some 18...

Amylin's Gila Monster Of A Diabetes Drug, 08.07.03, 1:25 PM ET NEW YORK - Seven years ago, San Diego's Amylin Pharmaceuticals licensed the rights to a potential diabetes drug derived from the saliva of the venomous Gila monster lizard. Late yesterday, Amylin (nasdaq: AMLN - news - people ) unveiled the results of the first of three clinical trials that it and its partner Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ) hope will lead to U.S. regulatory approval for the medicine, exenatide, to treat adult-onset diabetes. The positive results caused Amylin shares to leap 13% to $24 this...