Canadian Diabetes Association and Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism Professional Conference and Annual Meetings, physicians will get a first-time look at more detailed results from a phase-3b clinical study Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes (LEAD) 6 comparing the investigational new drug liraglutide to exenatide. The study showed that liraglutide, a human GLP-1 analog administered once daily was significantly more effective at improving blood glucose control (as measured by HbA1c) than exenatide, a GLP-1 mimetic administered twice daily.

"In this study, reduction in blood glucose was greater with liraglutide than with exenatide," said Lawrence Blonde, director of the Ochsner Diabetes Clinical Research Unit in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the Oxford Center in New Orleans. "Patients treated with once-daily liraglutide achieved better blood glucose control and also had less minor hypoglycaemia than those treated with exenatide."

Fasting plasma glucose was also reduced significantly more with liraglutide compared to exenatide. Furthermore, liraglutide was also associated with higher HOMA-B values, an assessment of beta-cell function.

The 26-week study included 464 people with type-2 diabetes who were randomized to treatment with either liraglutide 1.8 mg once daily or exenatide 10 µg twice daily, both as an add-on to their existing treatment consisting of metformin and/or a sulphonylurea.

The overall rate of hypoglycaemia in the study was low. Liraglutide patients experienced significantly less minor hypoglycaemia compared to those on exenatide.

Once-daily liraglutide is the first human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

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