The number of people buying prescription drugs rose 8.3 percent last year to $274.9 billion, mainly attributed to the Medicare drug benefit, increased use of generic medicines and new treatments for diseases such as cancer and diabetes. According to the report released late Thursday by IMS Health, the drug sales growth is however expected to dampen a bit in 2007.

As the Medicare drug benefit is annualized and more generic products enter the market, it is anticipated that the drug sales will remain in a compounded annual rate of between 6 percent and 9 percent through 2010

A new diabetes treatment will be based on saliva from a Gila monster, AP reports. The drug, named Byetta, manufactured by Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly & Co., has just cleared FDA testing. Reports say it will hit the market June 1.

According to the makers, "Byetta is a synthetic version of a protein found in the saliva of the Gila monster that works similarly to the human GLP-1

The Food and Drug Administration annouced its approval of a new drug derived from the saliva of a poisonous lizard called the Gila monster.

Byetta, chemically called exenatide, is the newest option for Type 2 diabetics. The drug is the first of its kind, requires injections twice a day, and presently must be taken along with older diabetes treaments