Once-Weekly Insulin Shows Promise in Type 2 Diabetes

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Once-weekly insulin icodec — an experimental basal insulin analogue — reduces glycated hemoglobin as well as once-daily insulin glargine in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to an industry-supported, international phase 2 trial. The findings were published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Nearly 250 adults with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, despite treatment with metformin with or without a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, were randomized to receive once-weekly subcutaneous icodec plus once-daily placebo or once-daily subcutaneous glargine plus once-weekly placebo for 26 weeks. None had previously received long-term insulin treatment.

The mean glycated hemoglobin level decreased similarly in the two groups, from roughly 8% at baseline to an estimated 6.7% with icodec and 6.9% with glargine at week 26. The incidence of clinically significant or severe hypoglycemia was low and similar between the groups.

The researchers say the results "suggest that once-weekly insulin has the potential to facilitate insulin management, providing clinical benefits and reducing the number of injections per year from 365 to 52."