Council Member Biography
Kelly Close is Founder and President of Close Concerns, a healthcare information firm focused exclusively on diabetes and obesity. She has over 15 years of experience at the intersection of finance and healthcare. Ms. Close specializes in financial analysis and marketing within the diabetes and obesity industries. She provides advisory services on topics related to pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology products for diabetes and is a frequent speaker and writer in this field. Before starting Close Concerns, Ms. Close worked at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company and in the medical device equity research teams at Merrill Lynch and Piper Jaffray. She is Editor-in-Chief of Diabetes Close Up, an industry newsletter, and diaTribe, a patient newsletter on research and new products in the field. She has an extensive patient database and stays up to date on patient interests in these fields. (This is me - Update Profile)
Employment History
- 2002 - Unspecified
- President, Close Concerns
- 2000 - 2002
- Research Analyst, Piper Jaffray
- 1995 - 1998
- Associate, MCKINSEY & COMPANY, INC.
- 1990 - 1993
- Analyst, Goldman Sachs
GLG NewsSM Analyses by Kelly Close(?)
Opinions and analyses expressed in GLG News are solely those of the author. See the Terms of Use for details.
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Novo Nordisk's Liraglutide Wins in Obesity Too
October 29, 2009
Effects of liraglutide in the treatment of obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study | www.thelancet.com
Results from a 20-week study of the GLP-1 analog liraglutide in obese and overweight patients were recently published in The Lancet. In the trial, 564 patients were randomized to one of six groups: orlistat (120 mg, 3 times daily), placebo, and liraglutide 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, 2.4 mg, or 3.0 mg. The trial involved a three-week screening period,a two-week run-in period, a 20-week double blind study period, and a 84-week open label follow up.
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Major Turnaround- NEJM VADT Correction Shows MVC Benefits of Intensive Control
October 19, 2009
Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trials- Corrections | content.nejm.org
The authors of the original Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT) published a correction in the September 3, 2009 issue of the NEJM indicating that the rate of progression to microalbuminuria was misreported in the original trial publication. Updated numbers show a meaningful and statistically significant reduction of progression to albuminuria for the intensive treatment group.
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LEAD-6 Extension Trial Results Announced-- Look Positive for Novo Nordisk
October 17, 2009
Switching From Exenatide to Liraglutide for Type 2 Diabetes Demonstrates Benefits: Presented at EASD | www.docguide.com
LEAD-6 was a randomized open label parallel group study conducted at 132 sites in the US and EU, comparing the use of liraglutide and exenatide in type 2 diabetes patients 18-80 years of age. In the extension arm of the study, patients on 1.8 mg of liraglutide continued on the drug for another 14 weeks while patients originally randomized to the exenatide treatment group were switched to 1.8 mg liraglutide therapy for 14 weeks. After 40 weeks, both groups had identical A1c levels.
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October 5, 2009
Januvia, Janumet to Note Pancreatitis Cases | diabetes.webmd.com
Merck and the FDA are working to revise the prescription guidelines for Januvia to reflect incidences of pancreatitis seen in association with Januvia. Also, post-hoc analysis presented at EASD showed that those completing two years of Januvia monotherapy had A1c drops from 8.4% to 6.9%. Lastly, Januvia therapy as an adjunct to insulin therapy received approval by the EMEA, making it likely to be adopted by the European Commission for this indication.
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Afresa suppresses gluconeogenesis more readily than Humalog or Exubera
October 2, 2009
MannKind Says Afresa Insulin Therapy Controls Diabetes Better | www.rttnews.com
MannKind announced Tuesday (September 29) results showing that Afresa suppresses endogenous glucose production more readily than Humalog (insulin lispro) or Exubera. MannKind has suggested in the past that it is Afresa's inhibition of gluconeogenesis that causes its drop in fasting plasma glucose. The results came from a trial looking at endogenous insulin production in 18 subjects on either Afresa, Exubera, or Humalog.
Leading institutions connect with Kelly Close through GLG
GLG Study Groups with Kelly Close(?)
| Study Group Name | No. Members |
|---|---|
| Experts in the Leisure & Lodging Council | 4887 |
| Experts in the Automotive Council | 3422 |
| Physicians who Treat Diabetes (US) | 466 |
| Medical Geneticists (US) | 85 |
| DexCom's Continuous Glucose Monitoring System Experts | 27 |
GLG Live Meetings with Kelly Close(?)
Recent Seminars
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June 16, 2009 | New York
GLG Seminar: (NYC) Hot Topics from ADA 2009 with Kelly Close -
June 15, 2009 | Boston
GLG Seminar: (BOS) Hot Topics from ADA 2009 with Kelly Close -
June 4, 2009 | Palo Alto
GLG Seminar: (Palo Alto) Preview of 2009 ADA with Kelly Close -
June 19, 2008 | San Francisco
GLG Seminar (San Francisco): Diabetes and Obesity Industries Seminar -
May 22, 2008 | Boston
GLG Seminar: Diabetes and Obesity