Novo Nordisk study shows Liraglutide more effective than Amaryl

SAN FRANCISCO Novo Nordisk has released results from a phase III study that showed its diabetes medications Liraglutide was more effective in controlling blood glucose sugar than Aventis Pharmaceuticals’ Amaryl.

In the 12-month study, 62 percent of patients treated with Liraglutide who had not been previously treated with diabetes medications achieved an average reduction in blood sugar that brought them below the ADA target for HbA1c of 7 percent. The study also showed that patients taking Liraglutide once daily as monotherapy experienced significant weight loss and lowering of blood pressure.

Novo recently submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for Liraglitude as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes.

“This study showed that when used as initial drug treatment for Type 2 diabetes, once-daily Liraglutide not only statistically significantly reduced blood glucose, weight, and systolic blood pressure, but sustained blood glucose reductions for the duration of the study in patients who had never taken diabetes medications before,” said study investigator Robert E. Ratner, vice president for Scientific Affairs at the MedStar Research Institute. “The sustained reduction in blood glucose suggests that Liraglutide may be beneficial when used earlier in the course of diabetes.”

Another study performed by Novo showed that Levemir was just as effective as the insulin glargine over a 24-hour period in patients with Type 2 diabetes.