Study suggests patients’ preference for Lantus over Humalog

A new study suggests that Sanofi-Aventis’ insulin shot Lantus is easier to use than Eli Lilly’s rival product, Humalog, used to control blood-sugar levels,

The study, conducted by Reinhard Bretzel of the JustusLiebig Universitaet in Giessen, Germany, explains that both drugs were similar in terms of their effectiveness but patients preferred Lantus (glargine), which was only injected once a day, where Humalog (lispro) has patients receiving three shots a day.

Sanofi-Aventis, which funded the study that was published in the Lancelot, hoped to use the study to gain more revenue from the $14 billion insulin market. According to published reports, both products were tested in a 44-week study on 418 patients with Type-2 diabetes. The importance of this study for Sanofi was to prove that Lantus could reduce drawbacks that are linked to insulin preparations. These include weight gain and hypoglycemia.

“We conclude that insulin glargine provides a simple and effective option that is more satisfactory to patients than is lispro for early initiation of insulin therapy,” wrote Bretzel, “since it was associated with a lower risk of hypoglycemia, fewer injections, less blood glucose self monitoring and greater patient satisfaction, than was insulin lispro.”