Insulin Glargine

AimsA variety of basal insulin preparations are used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to summarize scientific evidence on relative efficacy and safety of insulin glargine (IGlar) and other insulins in T2DM.MethodsA systematic review was carried out in major medical databases up to December 2012. Relevant studies compared efficacy and safety of IGlar, added to oral drugs (OAD) or/and in combination with bolus insulin, with protamine insulin (NPH) or premixed insulin (MIX) in the same regimen, as well as with insulin detemir (IDet), in T2DM. Target HbA1c level without hypoglycemic events was considered the primary endpoint.ResultsTwenty eight RCTs involving 12,669 T2DM patients followed for 12-52 weeks were included in quantitative analysis. IGlar + OAD use was associated with higher probability of reaching target HbA1c level without hypoglycemia as compared to NPH + OAD (RR = 1.32 [1.09, 1.59]) or MIX without OAD (RR = 1.61 [1.22, 2.13]) and similar effect as IDet + OAD (RR = 1.07 [0.87, 1.33]) and MIX + OAD (RR = 1.09 [0.86, 1.38]). IGlar + OAD demonstrated significantly lower risk of symptomatic hypoglycemia as compared to NPH + OAD (RR = 0.89 [0.83, 0.96]), MIX + OAD (RR = 0.75 [0.68, 0.83]) and MIX without OAD(RR = 0.75 [0.68, 0.83]), but not with IDet + OAD (RR = 0.99 [0.90, 1.08]). In basal-bolus regimens, IGlar demonstrated similar proportion of T2DM patients achieving target HbA1c as compared to NPH (RR = 1.14 [0.91, 1.44]) but higher than MIX (RR = 1.26 [1.12, 1.42) or IDet (RR = 1.38 [1.11, 1.72]). The risk of severe hypoglycemia was lower in IGlar than in NPH (RR = 0.77 [0.63, 0.94]), with no differences in comparison with MIX (RR = 0.74 [0.46, 1.20]) and IDet (RR = 1.10 [0.54, 2.25]). IGlar + OAD has comparable safety profile to NPH, with less frequent adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation than MIX + OAD (RR = 0.41 [0.22, 0.76]) and IDet + OAD (RR = 0.40 [0.24, 0.69]). Also severe adverse reactions were less common for IGlar + OAD when compared to MIX + OAD (RR = 0.71 [0.52; 0.98]).ConclusionFor the majority of examined efficacy and safety outcomes, IGlar use in T2DM patients was superior or non-inferior to the alternative insulin treatment options.

Aims/hypothesisA head-to-head randomised trial was conducted to evaluate hypoglycaemia safety with insulin degludec 200 U/ml (degludec U200) and insulin glargine 300 U/ml (glargine U300) in individuals with type 2 diabetes treated with basal insulin.MethodsThis randomised (1:1), open-label, treat-to-target, multinational trial included individuals with type 2 diabetes, aged ≥18 years with HbA1c ≤80 mmol/mol (9.5%) and BMI ≤45 kg/m2. Participants were previously treated with basal insulin with or without oral glucose-lowering drugs (excluding insulin secretagogues) and had to fulfil at least one predefined criterion for hypoglycaemia risk. Both degludec U200 and glargine U300 were similarly titrated to a fasting blood glucose target of 4.0-5.0 mmol/l. Endpoints were assessed during a 36 week maintenance period and a total treatment period up to 88 weeks. There were three hypoglycaemia endpoints: (1) overall symptomatic hypoglycaemia (either severe, an event requiring third-party assistance, or confirmed by blood glucose [ResultsOf the 1609 randomised participants, 733 of 805 (91.1%) in the degludec U200 arm and 734 of 804 (91.3%) in the glargine U300 arm completed the trial (87.3% and 87.8% completed on treatment, respectively). Baseline characteristics were comparable between the two treatment arms. For the primary endpoint, the rate of overall symptomatic hypoglycaemia was not significantly lower with degludec U200 vs glargine U300 (rate ratio [RR] 0.88 [95% CI 0.73, 1.06]). As there was no significant difference between treatments for the primary endpoint, the confirmatory testing procedure for superiority was stopped. The pre-specified confirmatory secondary hypoglycaemia endpoints were analysed using pre-specified statistical models but were now considered exploratory. These endpoints showed a lower rate of nocturnal symptomatic hypoglycaemia (RR 0.63 [95% CI 0.48, 0.84]) and severe hypoglycaemia (RR 0.20 [95% CI 0.07, 0.57]) with degludec U200 vs glargine U300.Conclusions/interpretationThere was no significant difference in the rate of overall symptomatic hypoglycaemia with degludec U200 vs glargine U300 in the maintenance period. The rates of nocturnal symptomatic and severe hypoglycaemia were nominally significantly lower with degludec U200 during the maintenance period compared with glargine U300.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03078478 FUNDING: This trial was funded by Novo Nordisk (Bagsvaerd, Denmark).

BackgroundDiabetes patients are usually started on a low dose of insulin and their dose is adjusted or "titrated" according to their blood glucose levels. Insulin titration administered through face-to-face visits with a clinician can be time consuming and logistically burdensome for patients, especially those of low socioeconomic status (SES). Given the wide use of mobile phones among this population, there is the potential to use short message service (SMS) text messaging and phone calls to perform insulin titration remotely.ObjectiveThe goals of this pilot study were to (1) evaluate if our Mobile Insulin Titration Intervention (MITI) intervention using text messaging and phone calls was effective in helping patients reach their optimal insulin glargine dose within 12 weeks, (2) assess the feasibility of the intervention within our clinic setting and patient population, (3) collect data on the cost savings associated with the intervention, and (4) measure patient satisfaction with the intervention.MethodsThis was a pilot study evaluating an intervention for patients requiring insulin glargine titration in the outpatient medical clinic of Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. Patients in the intervention arm received weekday SMS text messages from a health management platform requesting their fasting blood glucose values. The clinic's diabetes nurse educator monitored the texted responses on the platform website each weekday for alarm values. Once a week, the nurse reviewed the glucose values, consulted the MITI titration algorithm, and called patients to adjust their insulin dose. Patients in the usual care arm continued to receive their standard clinic care for insulin titration. The primary outcome was whether a patient reached his/her optimal insulin glargine dose within 12 weeks.ResultsA total of 61 patients consented and were randomized into the study. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the intervention arm reached their optimal insulin glargine dose than patients in the usual care arm (88%, 29/33 vs 37%, 10/27; PConclusionsMITI is an effective way to help low-SES patients reach their optimal insulin glargine dose using basic SMS text messaging and phone calls. The intervention was feasible and patients were highly satisfied with their treatment. The intervention was cost saving in terms of time for patients, who were able to have their insulin titrated without multiple clinic appointments. Similar interventions should be explored to improve care for low-SES patients managing chronic disease.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov NCT01879579; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01879579 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6YZik33L3).

ImportanceAlthough biosimilars have potential to reduce drug spending, their use remains low. Automatic substitutions of biologic drugs by their biosimilars at pharmacies can facilitate biosimilar uptake. Yet, state regulations limiting the types and circumstances under which biosimilars may be substituted could discourage efficient biosimilar adoption.ObjectiveTo examine associations of state substitution laws in the US with biosimilar adoption in the insulin glargine market, in which an interchangeable biosimilar was recently launched.Design, setting, and participantsThis retrospective cohort study using MarketScan commercial claims data examined fills for insulin glargine among users who were younger than 65 years and had fills for the insulin glargine Lantus (Sanofi) and its biosimilars, interchangeable insulin glargine-yfgn (Semglee [Mylan Pharmaceuticals]) and a noninterchangeable insulin glargine (Basaglar [Lilly]). Data were analyzed from August 2024 to January 2025.Main outcomes and measuresMarket share of the insulin glargine, interchangeable insulin glargine-yfgn, and the noninterchangeable insulin glargine. Unit of analysis was the per-person prescription fill. Changes in fills between those residing in states with less vs more restrictive substitution laws in a 1-year period before and after the launch of interchangeable glargine-yfgn (November 16, 2021) were compared.ResultsA total of 487 281 per-person prescription fills (mean [SD] age, 49.5 [13.3] years; 56.9% male) were included, with 158 141 and 329 140 per-person prescription fills from less vs more restrictive states, respectively. Following the launch of insulin glargine-yfgn, its market share differentially increased by 7.03 percentage points (pp; 95% CI, 1.89-12.18 pp; P = .008), coinciding with a 6.48 pp (95% CI, -11.70 to -1.26 pp; P = .02) differential reduction in the insulin glargine market share in states with less vs more restrictive laws. In the last quarter, the market share for insulin glargine-yfgn was 20.6% and 12.1% in states with less and more restrictive laws, respectively. There were not statistically significant differential changes in fills for the noninterchangeable insulin glargine (-0.24 pp; 95% CI, -1.40 to 0.92 pp; P = .68). Three restrictions had more pronounced associations with a lower uptake of insulin glargine-yfgn: enhanced physician notification (-8.15 pp; 95% CI, -12.49 to -3.81 pp; P Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study, insulin users in states with less restrictive substitution laws were more likely to fill the biosimilar alternative to insulin glargine, underscoring the role of state regulations of substitution as an important determinant of biosimilar adoption and the need for reforms to increase efficient biosimilar adoption.