DOC News July 1, 2007
Volume 4 Number 7 p. 18
© 2007 American Diabetes Association
Once-Weekly Exenatide Safe and Effective
New findings suggest an extended-release formulation of exenatide (Byetta,
Amylin/Lilly) appears to be a safe and effective once-weekly therapy to
control blood glucose and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes.
Investigators studied a long-acting release (LAR) formulation of exenatide
in 45 people with type 2 diabetes who were poorly controlled with metformin
and lifestyle modification. Participants were randomized to receive 0.8 or 2
mg injection of LAR exenatide or a placebo injection once weekly for 15
weeks.
At the end of the study period, glycated hemoglobin (A1C) was lower among
study subjects: the mean A1C value was 7.2% for the .8 mg exenatide group and
6.6% for the 2 mg group, down from a mean 8.5% A1C value before the study. By
comparison, there was a slight rise to 9% among those receiving placebo.
Subjects also showed improvements in fasting glucose levels. Those receiving
the 2 mg dose lost an average of 3.8 kg (8.6 lb). There was no weight loss
among those who received the 0.8 mg dose of LAR exenatide or placebo.
The most common side-effect from LAR exenatide was nausea. However, none of
the participants receiving LAR exenatide withdrew from the study.
If clinical research continues to show promise, this long-acting
formulation of exenatide may one day be introduced as a once-weekly therapy
option for type 2 diabetes, the authors suggest.
Kim A, MacConell L, Zhuang D, et al.: Effects of
once-weekly dosing of a longacting release formulation of exenatide on glucose
control and body weight in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes
Care 30:1487-1493, 2007.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
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