Novo Nordisk posted data last week demonstrating that its combination drug IDegLira avoids common side effects for diabetes treatment while still lowering blood sugar levels.
The drug combines Novo’s basal insulin degludec (Tresiba) with its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP1) receptor agonist liraglutide (Victoza) into a single pen-based therapy and is being touted as a serious contented in the competitive type 2 diabetes market.
Novo has previously shared data from the DUAL studies to assess the drug, which demonstrated its ability to help 81 per cent of patients achieve target blood sugar levels over 26 weeks.
The company has now posted further data from DUAL I and DUAL II demonstrating that patients with type 2 diabetes on IDegLira are able to achieve a mean weight loss of 2.7kg and a lower risk of hypoglycaemia – a dangerous drop in blood sugar levels – compared to treatment with insulin degludec alone.
These results are a boost for Novo’s ambitions for IDegLira, considering weight gain and hypoglycaemia are common side effects of insulin-based diabetes treatments.
The lead trial investigator for the DUAL study, Prof Stephen Gough, described IDegLira as a “great achievement in diabetes therapy; one which has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes”.
Data from the DUAL trials also demonstrated a low incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events, which, said the company, backs IDegLira as a “potential treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on basal insulin and in need of further treatment optimisation”.
Novo filed iDegLira for review in the EU in May last year and a decision from the regulator is due in the next few weeks.
Approval in the US could be trickier as the newer element of the combintion Tresiba is yet to be recommended by the FDA, with Novo due to present cardiovascular safety data in two to three years time.
The interview with Prof Gough took place at the Diabetes UK conference in Liverpool, which also saw the launch of Quality in Care (QiC) Diabetes – an awards programme run by PMLiVE publisher PMGroup.
Find out more about the programme on the QiC Diabetes website, including details on how to enter your diabetes project.