Lilly continues once-weekly insulin rally with two Phase III diabetes readouts
Lilly continues once-weekly insulin rally with two Phase III diabetes readouts
Eli Lilly on Tuesday unveiled data from two late-stage studies, further building the case for its once-weekly insulin efsitora in patients with diabetes. The pharma presented its findings at the 2024 Annual Meeting of European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
In QWINT-2, Lilly tested efsitora in insulin-naïve type 2 diabetes patients versus daily insulin degludec. Results showed that the once-weekly injection could lower A1C by 1.34%, compared with the 1.26% reduction in degludec patients—an effect that was non-inferior, according to the company. A1C level at 52 weeks was 6.87% after efsitora treatment and 6.95% in degludec comparators.
Efsitora continued to match degludec in patients who were and were not taking GLP-1 receptor agonists, resulting in non-inferior reductions in A1C.
QWINT-2 results also showed that patients treated with the weekly insulin spent 45 minutes more in time in range per day versus degludec, a key secondary endpoint. Efsitora’s safety profile was similar to daily insulin, resulting in severe hypoglycemic episodes, versus six in the degludec arm. Time in hypoglycemia was not increased.
“With these results, we believe we’re headed towards a future where people with type 2 diabetes who use basal insulin can achieve their desired results with a simple treatment option like efsitora,” Jeff Emmick, Lilly’s senior vice president of product development, said in a statement.
The QWINT-2 readout adds to growing evidence supporting efsitora in type 2 diabetes. Last week, Lilly also posted data drops from QWINT-1 and QWINT-3, demonstrating that the once-weekly efsitora could match daily injections in patients who were insulin-naïve and in those who were switching to a weekly schedule from daily basal insulin.
Lilly is also positioning efsitora as a potential once-weekly treatment for type 1 diabetes.
Reuters