The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7431 p729
16 December 2006

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New DPP-4 inhibitors' data

Patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a combination of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor sitagliptin plus metformin (MK-0431A) see greater reductions in plasma glucose and HBA_1c levels relative to metformin alone, according to a 24-week study presented at the World Diabetes Congress held in Cape Town earlier this month.

Compared with placebo, the combination reduced HBA_1c by 2.1 per cent (P<0.001), as well as reducing post-prandial and fasting plasma glucose levels. The combination also resulted in two-thirds of patients achieving an HBA_1c goal of <7 per cent (66.3 per cent) compared with 38.4 per cent of patients on metformin alone.

Hypoglycaemia incidence was low (0.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent) across treatment groups, and none gained weight.

At the same meeting, pooled analyses from Phase III studies showed significant improvements in blood sugar control among older patients treated with vildagliptin, without the increased side effects that can limit aggressive treatment in these patients.