Novo Nordisk's Insulin Degludec/Liraglutide is Set to Become the Clinical Gold-Standard Among Fixed-Dose Combination Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes

BURLINGTON, Mass., July 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that Novo Nordisk's fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy insulin degludec/liraglutide (Xultophy, formerly known as IDegLira) is set to become the clinical gold-standard among FDCs used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes. The competitive advantages that this long-acting insulin analogue/glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist FDC has over other FDCs are due to the combined actions of the highly efficacious individual components on various measures of glycemic control.

Other key findings from the DecisionBase report entitled Type 2 Diabetes (Fixed-Dose Combinations): Are Emerging Fixed-Dose Combinations Poised to Fill the Unmet Need for Drugs with Greater Efficacy?:

• Prescribing decisions: Surveyed U.S. and European endocrinologists agree that a therapy's ability to reduce glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is the attribute that most influences their decisions regarding prescribing in type 2 diabetes.
• Key unmet needs: Greater reduction in body weight was highlighted by U.S. endocrinologists as the greatest unmet need relating to the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Interviewed thought leaders note that coadministration of a GLP-1 receptor agonist with an insulin has the potential to mitigate the weight gain associated with insulin treatment and are therefore enthusiastic about combining these treatments.
• Factors influencing formulary decisions: Surveyed U.S. payers indicate that improvements in the key efficacy attribute of greater reduction in body weight and the key safety attribute of greater reduction in incidence of cardiovascular adverse events will be chief drivers for formulary inclusion.

Comments from Decision Resources Group Analyst Tim Blackstock, M.B. Ch.B., M. Phil.:

• "Given that type 2 diabetes patients are often treated with several agents, FDCs are a way to improve convenience and compliance for patients with a high pill burden. The main drawback highlighted by interviewed thought leaders is the less-flexible titration offered by these combinations compared with individual agents."
• "While both surveyed physicians and payers highlight greater reductions in body weight as a key unmet need, the development of novel agents with improved efficacy in reducing HbA1c remains the greatest opportunity for pharmaceutical companies working in type 2 diabetes."

About Decision Resources Group
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SOURCE Decision Resources Group