New diabetes study favours Novo Nordisk’s Victoza

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

New data shows that more patients with type 2 diabetes achieved an average blood sugar level below 7% after using Novo Nordisk’s Victoza (liraglutide) for the first time, at any given time point during 26 weeks of treatment, than with Merck % Co’s Januvia (sitagliptin) or Amylin Pharmaceuticals’ Byetta (exenatide).

For non-diabetics, the usual blood sugar level is between 4 and 5%, while a level of 6.5% is deemed to be good blood sugar control for patients with diabetes.

According to the new data, Victoza 1.2mg was found to have a significantly higher estimated chance of reaching the target blood sugar level, approximately 1.76 times more likely, across the 26-week treatment period than those treated with Januvia. The 1.8mg dose of Victoza showed patients had an estimated 2.1 times more likely chance to reach the target compared to Januvia, while the same dose also estimated a 1.5 times more likely chance compared to Byetta.

“These results show the benefit of liraglutide in helping physicians to manage their patients’ blood glucose levels. In patients who are slightly above goal, liraglutide is more likely to achieve target HbA1c &lt,7% compared to sitagliptin and exenatide BID. We know that by achieving treatment goals sooner, outcomes are improved so it’s important that effective treatments, such as liraglutide, are used early in the management of type 2 diabetes.”

Dr Allen King from the Diabetes Care Centre, Salinas, California.

These data were recently presented at the 9th Annual International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region congress in Kyoto, Japan.

Novo Nordisk is the world’s largest insulin maker. Its drug, Victoza, was approved in June 2009 by the European Commission for use in all 27 European Union member states. In Europe, Victoza is indicated for treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to achieve glycaemic control, in combination with metformin and or sulphonylurea or metformin and thiazolidinedione. In January 2010, the US FDA also approved Victoza and the drug has since been commercially launched in over 50 countries globally.

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