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Insulin degludec/liraglutide in type 2 diabetes: a profile of its use

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Abstract

Subcutaneous insulin degludec/liraglutide (Xultophy™) is a titratable, fixed-ratio combination of a long-acting insulin analogue and a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) that is approved in several countries, including the USA and those in the EU for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) as add-on therapy. In clinical and real-world studies in insulin-naïve or -experienced adults with inadequately controlled T2D, once-daily insulin degludec/liraglutide as add-on therapy to oral antidiabetic drugs consistently provided effective and durable glycaemic control, and delayed the time to treatment intensification. It also reduced the risk of hypoglycaemia and bodyweight gain compared with basal or basal-bolus insulin therapy. Insulin degludec/liraglutide is generally well tolerated and offers the convenience of once-daily administration of two injectable antidiabetic drugs.

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Acknowledgements

The manuscript was reviewed by P. Rossing, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, DK 2820 Gentofte/University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; T. Tzotzas, St. Luke`s Hospital, Panorama, Thessaloniki, Greece. During the peer review process, Novo Nordisk, the marketing-authorization holder of insulin degludec/liraglutide, was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Young-A Heo

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Young-A Heo is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

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Enhanced material for this Adis Drug Q&A can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12045333.

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Heo, YA. Insulin degludec/liraglutide in type 2 diabetes: a profile of its use. Drugs Ther Perspect 36, 219–229 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40267-020-00731-z

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