Gila Monster Spit

The basic ingredient of both Bydureon and Byetta [diabetes drugs], called exenatide, is derived from the saliva of the Gila monster, a dangerous lizard                   

                                                            NYT, 10/20/10                                                                                                                                                     

You really have to wonder what led some scientist to say, "Y'know Joe, I'll bet Gila monster saliva would make a great diabetes drug." Or else the weary researcher sighs to his colleague, "Well Fred, we've tried everything else--how about Gila monster saliva?  Let's go out, collect a bunch, and squeeze the spit out of them."


Which leads to the question: Exactly how do they get the spit out of a Gila monster? Are there Gila monster farms where they strap little pails under the chins of the monsters and wait for them to drool? Or do they somehow pry open their jaws and extract the saliva directly from their glands? Are there Gila monster wranglers  who do the prying and extracting? Are there guys running around the desert capturing Gila monsters for profit? Or do they have Gila monster stud farms to keep up the supply of the animals? How many Gila monsters does it take to supply enough saliva for one dose? No wonder these drugs are so expensive! 


And now it turns out that Bydureon has been rejected by the FDA as too dangerous. Seems they're afraid that the drug might build up in patients' kidneys instead of being passed through. Oh yeah, that seems like a bad thing--a kidney full of Gila monster spit. Of course, peeing Gila monster saliva doesn't sound a whole lot better!