Sometimes two is better than one, at least when it comes to certain type 2 diabetes medications. The Phase III Results of AstraZeneca’s trial for type 2 diabetes treatment with a combination of Bydureon and Farxiga showed that pairing the two resulted in a 2% reduction in HbA1c, better than a 1.6% drop in Bydureon and 1.4% with Farxiga alone. Combining the two medications resulted in cutting down blood sugar in patients whose diabetes couldn’t be controlled with metformin, the usual first-line medication for type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, using both type 2 diabetes medications also resulted in lowering weight and bringing down systolic blood pressure, another key measure of AstraZeneca’s study. These results were achieved at 28 weeks into the study.
What This Means for Pharmaceutical Companies and Patients
For AstraZeneca, this trial is the first of its kind to combine SGLT2/DPP-4 combo therapies. As drug combination therapies grow increasingly popular, trials like this, dubbed DURATION-8, could increase AstraZeneca’s market-share. Farxiga and Bydureon are diabetes medications up against fierce competition from drugs like Trulicity and Jardiance, which have been proven to do more to reduce the risk of heart disease.
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| Bydureon diabetes medication.Source: nih.gov |
Serge Jabbour, Professor of Medicine, Director of the Division of Endocrinology and Director of the Diabetes Center at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, said: “Because of the progressive nature of type 2 diabetes, patients often require multiple anti-diabetic medicines to achieve and maintain glycemic control. The results of DURATION-8 show that combining medicines that work in different ways can significantly reduce HbA1c, as well as weight and systolic blood pressure.”
For people living with type 2 diabetes, lowering Hba1c amounts by larger percentages can allow better control of blood pressure and lead to more easily managed lives. As AstraZeneca moves on to further stages of the trial, more benefits of this combination treatment for type 2 diabetes may come to life. Benefits could include lower Hb1ac, lower risk of cardiovascular problems, lower weight, and lower systolic blood pressure.
The Next Steps
Phase III of DURATION-8 is only a step along the way to determining the relative benefits of this combination treatment for type 2 diabetes patients. There are more steps along the way before the full benefits and risks are understood. Phase IIIb will begin soon and will test how Farxiga affects chronic kidney disease and chronic heart failure.
