The FINANCIAL — Data presented on June 7 at the 69th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) showed that once-daily liraglutide, taken as monotherapy, leads to statistically significant and sustained reductions in blood sugar and weight after two years of treatment.
In the study, 58% of patients treated with liraglutide 1.8 mg once daily reached and maintained the ADA’s blood sugar target of HbA1C less than 7% versus 37% of patients treated with glimepiride 8 mg once daily.(1)
“The fact that liraglutide continues to effectively lower blood sugar after two years of treatment is consistent with its other long-term clinical benefits such as continued reductions in fasting blood sugar and weight,” said Dr Alan Garber, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, a LEAD 3 principal study investigator. “Even with available treatments, many type 2 diabetes patients still struggle to control their blood sugar, while losing weight. Liraglutide represents an important advance for these patients.”
The LEAD 3 extension study also documented that treatment with liraglutide leads to early and lasting weight loss. Many currently available diabetes treatments lead to weight gain(2), a concern for type 2 diabetes patients, most of whom are already overweight.(3) After two years of treatment with 1.8 mg of liraglutide, mean body weight decreased significantly (-2.7 kg) compared to overall weight increase in the glimepiride group (+1.1 kg).
Hypoglycaemia is a condition where blood sugar levels become too low. Minor hypoglycaemia was more than six times less frequent in the liraglutide treatment groups compared with the glimepiride group.(1)
