EASD 2017 - Lisbon, Portugal

Presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal (11-15 September).

In people with type 2 diabetes, insulin degludec/liraglutide significantly reduced a number of risk factors associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to basal insulin. The tested treatment is a once-daily single injection fixed-ratio combination of long-acting insulin degludec and the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide in one pen. It is indicated for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycemic control in combination with oral glucose-lowering medicinal products when these alone or combined with basal insulin do not provide adequate glycemic control. Insulin degludec/liraglutide is given once daily by subcutaneous injection. Insulin degludec/liraglutide can be administered at any time of the day with or without meals, preferably at the same time of the day.

The CV risk markers data came from a new post-hoc analysis of two randomized-controlled clinical trials, comparing the efficacy and safety of insulin degludec/liraglutide against insulin degludec in DUAL II and against insulin glargine U100 in DUAL V, both with metformin for 26 weeks. These trials were conducted in people with type 2 diabetes not achieving glycemic control (HbA1c 7.5-10.0% in DUAL II; 7.0-10.0% in DUAL V) on basal insulin (20-40 units in DUAL II; 20-50 units in DUAL V).

According to a new post-hoc analysis of data of DUAL II and V, people treated with insulin degludec/liraglutide had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, lower total cholesterol as well as lower LDL-c, and significant weight changes in favor of insulin degludec/liraglutide compared to people treated with basal insulin (insulin glargine U100 or insulin degludec). A small but statistically significant increase in heart rate was also observed with insulin degludec/liraglutide.

CVD is the principal cause of death and disability among people with type 2 diabetes globally, with approximately two-thirds of deaths in people with diabetes attributable to CVD. Therefore, treatments for type 2 diabetes should not only lower blood sugar levels but also decrease CV risk.

Source: press release Novo Nordisk 13 September 2017