ADA: degludec noninferior for cardiovascular events in T2DM

(HealthDay)—Among high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, degludec is noninferior to glargine in terms of the incidence of cardiovascular events, according to a study published online June 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association, held from June 9 to 13 in San Diego.

Steven P. Marso, M.D., from the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., and colleagues randomized 7,637 patients with type 2 diabetes (85.2 percent with established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, or both) to receive either insulin degludec (3,818 patients) or insulin glargine U100 (3,819 patients) once daily between dinner and bedtime.

The researchers found that the primary outcome of first occurrence of an adjudicated major cardiovascular event occurred in 8.5 and 9.3 percent of patients in the degludec and glargine groups, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.06; P < 0.001 for noninferiority). The mean glycated hemoglobin level was 7.5 ± 1.2 percent in each group at 24 months, while the degludec group had a significantly lower mean fasting plasma glucose level (128 ± 56 versus 136 ± 57 mg/dL; P < 0.001). There was no between-group difference in the rates of adverse events.

"Among patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk for cardiovascular events, degludec was noninferior to glargine with respect to the incidence of major cardiovascular events," the authors write.

The study was funded by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of degludec.