NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Novo Nordisk A/S’s experimental diabetes drug liraglutide was significantly better at helping patients control blood sugar than an older common medicine after two years of treatment, according to data from a clinical trial.
Among patients who completed the two-year trial, 58 percent of those who took the 1.8 milligram dose of the closely watched Novo injectable drug reached and maintained target blood sugar levels compared with 37 percent of patients treated with glimepiride, the company said.
American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines call for A1C levels — a commonly used measure of blood sugar over time — of 7 percent or less. The 1.8 mg liraglutide patients saw A1C levels on average drop by 1.1 percent compared with a 0.6 percent reduction with glimepiride.
Patients taking liraglutide once daily also lost an average of 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds), while glimepiride patients gained 1.1 kg (2.4 pounds). Weight loss is an important advantage in type 2 diabetes patients, as most tend to be overweight and obesity is one of the leading causes of the disease, which is reaching epidemic proportions.
