Eli Lilly’s Diabetes Drug, Peglispro, Outperforms Lantus in Clinical Trial
Results from three late-stage clinical trials have demonstrated that Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug, Peglispro, is more effective at reducing blood sugar in patients with type II diabetes than Sanofi’s Lantus.
Yesterday, Eli Lilly confirmed that they are expecting to file for regulatory approval by the first quarter of 2015, after the Phase III clinical studies showed that they diabetes drug induced “a statistically superior reduction in HbA1c” when compared to Lantus.
Sanofi’s diabetes drug, Lantus, is the most prescribed insulin product globally with quarterly worldwide sales reported of around $2 billion.
The clinical trials evaluated Peglispro across a variety of patient populations: those not previously taking insulin; those taking basal insulin with mealtime insulin; and those currently taking a basal insulin. The primary endpoint of non-inferiority to Sanofi’s Lantus was met across all three clinical studies.
Further investigation highlighted that Basal Insulin Peglispro (BIL) was superior across all three clinical trials to lower HbA1c.
Enrique Conterno, Lilly Diabetes’ president, noted that “basal insulin peglispro is the first basal insulin to demonstrate consistently superior HbA1c reduction versus insulin glargine in Phase III clinical trials,” and, if approved, Peglispro “could offer a differentiated profile and provide an important new treatment option for patients with diabetes.”
Results from the clinical trials also showed that patients taking BIL experienced statistically significant lower rates of nocturnal hypoglycaemia than those taking Lantus, and trial participants taking Peglispro had “comparable to statistically significant less weight gain,” to patients taking Lantus Eli Lilly noted.