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Insulin glargine successful, cost effective for type 2 diabetes after failing oral agents
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PHILADELPHIA — Patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with insulin glargine via disposable pen after failing oral antidiabetes medications incurred significantly lower study drug costs compared with patients treated with liraglutide, according to data presented here.
Lower study drug costs resulted in lower diabetes-related health care costs without negative effects on clinical outcomes.
Philip A. Levin, MD, of the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, and colleagues collected data for 336 patients with baseline HbA1c of 8.9% from the Integrated Healthcare Information Services (IHCIS) national managed care claim database. They analyzed 1-year clinical outcomes and plan-paid health care costs associated with failing oral antidiabetic drugs and starting liraglutide (Victoza, Novo Nordisk) or insulin glargine disposable pen (GLA-P; Lantus, Sanofi-Aventis). Patients were previously treated with more than one oral antidiabetic drug; had HbA1c .7%; and started treatment with liraglutide or GLA-P between January and June of 2010. Patients were followed for 1 year.
Treatment with GLA-P or liraglutide was not associated with statistically significant differences in treatment persistence (51.7% vs. 47.6%), HbA1c reduction from baseline (–1.02% vs. –0.95%) or percentage of patients who achieved HbA1c <7% (23.3% vs. 28.5%).
There were significant differences, however, in study drug cost ($1,198 for GLA-P vs. $2,784 for liraglutide; P<.001) and diabetes-related health care costs ($5,653 for GLA-P vs. $7,976 for liraglutide; P=.02). – by Stacey L. Fisher
For more information:
Levin P. Abstract #11-OR. Presented at: the American Diabetes Association’s 72nd Scientific Sessions; June 8-12, 2012; Philadelphia.
Disclosure: Dr. Levin is on the advisory panel for Novo Nordisk and Sanofi-Aventis; is a consultant for: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi-Aventis; receives research support from Amylin, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk; and is on the speaker’s bureau for Amylin, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.