Extended release exenatide outperforms twice daily regimen

By Sally Robertson, B.Sc.Sep 24 2012

Once-weekly extended-release exenatide (EQW) is a more effective treatment than twice-daily exenatide (EBID) at improving glucose control among Japanese individuals with diabetes, report researchers.

Over a 26-week treatment period, EQW improved glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to a significantly greater degree than EBID in a cohort of 681 patients, report Linong Ji (Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China) and team.

For the study, individuals with a diabetes duration of more than 7 years and in whom the condition was inadequately controlled by oral antidiabetes medication (OAM) were recruited across 49 sites in China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Patients were aged 55‑56 years.

As reported in the Journal of Diabetes Investigation, treatment with EQW reduced the mean HbA1c by a significant 0.31% more than treatment with EBID.

EQW treatment resulted in significantly lower HbA1c compared with EBID at weeks 12, 20, and 26, at 7.3% versus 7.6%, 7.2% versus 7.5%, and 7.3% versus 7.6%, respectively. And a significantly higher proportion of patients achieved HbA1c targets of 7.0% or less, 6.5% or less, or 6.0% or less with EQW than with EBID patients.

Significant decreases from baseline in weight were observed with both treatments, but there was a considerably greater weight loss in the EBID group than in the EQW group, of 2.45 kg versus 1.63 kg, by the end of the treatment period.

Nausea, injection site reaction, and vomiting were the most frequently occurring adverse events, occurring in at least 10% of patients in both groups.

Injection site reaction was significantly more frequent with EQW treatment compared with EBID treatment, whereas nausea, vomiting and hypoglycemia were less frequent.

The most common adverse events in patients treated with EBID, nausea and vomiting, were significantly lower with EQW treatment.

"These findings might aid clinicians as they seek treatment options when OAM therapy fails to maintain adequate glycemic control in Asian patients with Type 2 diabetes," suggests the team.

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