Diabetes drug development data announced

Boehringer Ingelheim's linagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitor under investigation as a once-daily oral treatment against type 2 diabetes, achieved clinically meaningful reductions in blood glucose, according to phase III study data presented at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In four multicentre, 24-week, randomised, double-blind trials, linagliptin's blood glucose reductions were significant versus placebo and sustained over the study periods. The compound, which has a primarily non-renal route of excretion, is being investigated as a monotherapy and in combination with metformin, with pioglitazone and with voglibose, which is not licensed in the UK.

Also at the ADA meeting, Novo Nordisk presented phase II proof-of-concept data for its investigational insulin degludec, an ultra-long-acting basal insulin, which demonstrated the potential to help achieve target glycaemic control (similar to insulin glargine) when used once-daily or three-times-weekly.

Insulin degludec, a novel insulin molecule with a distinct ultra-long clinical profile, is believed to slow the absorption rate of the insulin into the blood. This leads to a longer profile of action and the possibility of a three-times-weekly dosing regimen in patients with type 2 diabetes. Insulin degludec will now be investigated in the pivotal phase III BEGIN and BOOST trials.