Issue 60 October 2013
7. Drug updates
Dulaglutide Tops Metformin for Type 2 Diabetes

Dulaglutide, a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, is superior to metformin in lowering of HbA1c levels in patients with early type 2 diabetes, a study found. The investigational glucagon-like peptide-1, once-weekly dulaglutide, appears to control diabetes in relatively recently diagnosed patients better than daily metformin monotherapy. Patients treated with the high dose of injectable dulaglutide 1.5 mg achieved an average 0.78% decline in glycosylated hemoglobin A1c at 26 weeks, compared with a 0.56% decline with metformin (95% CI minus 0.36-minus 0.08) (P<0.025), fulfilling the secondary endpoint of superiority, according to Santiago Tofe Povedano, MD, chief of endocrinology at Clinica Juaneda in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Nausea was reported by 19.7% of the high-dose dulaglutide patients; 11.8% of the low-dose dulaglutide patients and by 16% of metformin patients. Similar patterns were observed for diarrhea incidence and for vomiting, he said.

Empagliflozin shows efficacy as stand-alone diabetes treatment in previously untreated T2DM patients
Empagliflozin demonstrated a tolerable and efficacious strategy to reduce HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes who had not previously received drug treatment according to a study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology in Sep 2013.

In a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, of T2DM adults (aged ≥18 years) who had not received oral or injected anti-diabetes treatment in the previous 12 weeks with HbA1c concentrations of 7—10%, 228 patients to receive placebo, 224 to receive empagliflozin 10 mg, 224 to receive empagliflozin 25 mg, and 223 to receive sitagliptin. Compared with placebo, adjusted mean differences in change from baseline HbA1c at week 24 were −0•74% (95% CI −0•88 to −0•59; p<0•0001) for empagliflozin 10 mg, −0•85% (—0•99 to −0•71; p<0•0001) for empagliflozin 25 mg, and −0•73% (—0•88 to −0•59; p<0•0001) for sitagliptin. 140 (61%) patients in the placebo group reported adverse events (four [2%] severe and six [3%] serious), as did 123 (55%) patients in the empagliflozin 10 mg group (eight [4%] severe and eight [4%] serious), 135 (60%) patients in the empagliflozin 25 mg group (seven [3%] severe and five [2%] serious), and 119 (53%) patients in the sitagliptin group (five [2%] severe and six [3%] serious).

Empagliflozin is an oral, potent, and selective inhibitor of sodium—glucose co-transporter 2(SGLT 2) by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.

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