Merck’s Januvia pill for diabetes now commands 7 percent of the new prescriptions written and 4 percent of the total prescription market, according to the latest IMS Health data published this morning in a research note by Michael King, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw.

This isn’t surprising - Januvia has been surging and Merck, of course, is pushing hard. But Novartis execs must be getting particularly anxious, especially if reports are true that its own Galvus pill will suffer yet another delay and not become available until the summer.

Meanwhile, Pfizer’s Exubera, the insulin inhaler (see photo on the right), continues to struggle. New prescriptions fell 3.1 percent during the week ending Feb. 9, and total scrips dropped 1.8 percent. Pfizer execs say they’re going to promote Exubera heavily to make it a winner. How many jobs will be cut to pay Madison Avenue to advertise a device that no one seems to want to prescribe or use?