Dive Brief:
- Newly presented data indicates Eli Lilly's Trulicity (dulaglutide) provided better hemoglobin A1C reduction at 26 weeks than Sanofi's blockbuster Lantus (insulin glargine), while Novo Nordisk's IDegLira (insulin degludec/liraglutide) led to greater reduction in glycemic levels, with a lower incidence of hypoglycemia.
- Both drugs also led to weight loss.
- Trulicity was approved in the U.S. in September, and in the EU in November. IDegLira is still in late-stage trials in the U.S. and approved under the name Xultophy in Europe. Sanofi has its own new diabetes franchises in the works, including the next-gen Toujeo and the candidate lixisenatide.
Dive Insight:
Lantus has been king of the basal insulin market for some time now, but new data, including data presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting this week, shows that there are serious contenders. Trulicity is a once-weekly (CORRECTION: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Trulicity is once-daily) injection for patients with type 2 diabetes. In a 26-week trial, Trulicity 1.5 mg led to a 1.7% decrease in A1C levels, which reflect blood-sugar levels over a period of time.
As for IDegLira, this insulin formulation seems as if it may be useful in hard-to-treat individuals who have not acheived adequate treatment control of their blood sugar. While Lantus is not going to be forgotten in the diabetes market for some time to come (if ever), the treatment landscape is shifting, slowly, but definitively.