Treatment With the Human Once-Weekly Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analog Taspoglutide in Combination With Metformin Improves Glycemic Control and Lowers Body Weight in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Inadequately Controlled With Metformin Alone

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 32; no. 7; pp. 1237 - 1243
• Main Authors: Nauck, Michael A., Ratner, Robert E., Kapitza, Christoph, Berria, Rachele, Boldrin, Mark, Balena, Raffaella
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Diabetes Association 01.07.2009
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/dc08-1961

Treatment With the Human Once-Weekly Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Analog Taspoglutide in Combination With Metformin Improves Glycemic Control and Lowers Body Weight in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Inadequately Controlled With Metformin Alone A double-blind placebo-controlled study Michael A. Nauck , MD 1 , Robert E. Ratner , MD 2 , Christoph Kapitza , MD 3 , Rachele Berria , MD 4 , Mark Boldrin , 4 and Raffaella Balena , MD, PHD 5 1 Diabeteszentrum, Bad Lauterberg im Harz, Germany; 2 Medstar Research Institute, Hyattsville, Maryland; 3 Profil Institute, Neuss, Germany; 4 Roche Laboratories, Nutley, New Jersey; 5 Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland. Corresponding author: Raffaella Balena, raffaella.balena{at}roche.com . Abstract OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of taspoglutide (R1583/BIM51077), a human once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 analog, in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Type 2 diabetic ( n = 306) patients who failed to obtain glycemic control (A1C 7–9.5%) despite 1,500 mg metformin daily were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of double-blind subcutaneous treatment with placebo or taspoglutide, either 5, 10, or 20 mg once weekly or 10 or 20 mg once every 2 weeks, and followed for 4 additional weeks. All patients received their previously established dose of metformin throughout the study. Glycemic control was assessed by change in A1C (percent) from baseline. RESULTS Significantly greater ( P < 0.0001) reductions in A1C from a mean ± SD baseline of 7.9 ± 0.7% were observed in all taspoglutide groups compared with placebo after 8 weeks of treatment: –1.0 ± 0.1% (5 mg once weekly), –1.2 ± 0.1% (10 mg once weekly), –1.2 ± 0.1% (20 mg once weekly), –0.9 ± 0.1% (10 mg Q2W), and –1.0 ± 0.1% (20 mg Q2W) vs. –0.2 ± 0.1% with placebo. After 8 weeks, body weight loss was significantly greater in the 10 mg (–2.1 ± 0.3 kg, P = 0.0035 vs. placebo) and 20 mg (–2.8 ± 0.3 kg, P < 0.0001) once-weekly groups and the 20 mg once every 2 weeks (–1.9 ± 0.3 kg, P = 0.0083) group than with placebo (–0.8 ± 0.3 kg). The most common adverse event was dose-dependent, transient, mild-to-moderate nausea; the incidence of hypoglycemia was very low. CONCLUSIONS Taspoglutide used in combination with metformin significantly improves fasting and postprandial glucose control and induces weight loss, with a favorable tolerability profile. Footnotes Clinical trial reg. no. NCT00423501, clinicaltrials.gov. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. Received October 30, 2008. Accepted March 23, 2009. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details. © 2009 by the American Diabetes Association.