Sanofi shares positive data of its diabetes drug, Lantus

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

Sanofi has announced that its top-selling insulin treatment, Lantus, proved three times more likely than standard care to maintain targeted blood sugar levels in patients with pre-diabetes or early type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart disease. This data was presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

The results came from a clinical trial called ORIGIN, which was designed to assess the effects of treatment with insulin glargine against standard care on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. The trial lasted for six years and included over 12,500 patients worldwide, who had either pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glycemia or impaired glucose tolerance) or early type 2 diabetes (treated at most with one oral anti-diabetic) and high CV risk.

“Contrary to conventional understanding that diabetes is a progressively worsening disease, these new results from this sub-study of ORIGIN suggest that achieving and maintaining glycemic control early with insulin glargine might positively affect the natural history of the disease.”

Dr. Riccardo Perfetti, Vice President Medical Affairs, Global Diabetes, Sanofi.

Sanofi’s diabetes treatment, Lantus, represents 12% of the pharma company’s total sales. Lantus has 80% of the global market for long-acting insulins to treat diabetes. Competition in this market is growing – both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have products lined up that may challenge Lantus’ market space.

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