Another study also presented at EASD, shows that patients who switched from oral therapy with sitagliptin to once-daily injectable therapy with Victoza® had an increase in overall treatment satisfaction.[2]

Data show Victoza® administrated early in diabetes treatment results in greater glycaemic control (Poster 791)1
In a 26-week, pooled sub-group analysis (n=4626), Victoza® administration to patients who had not received any treatment before or previously received only one OAD produced greater glycaemic efficacy than in patients taking two or more OADs. Findings showed 72% of patients treated early with Victoza® 1.8 mg achieved EASD HbA1c target of <7% compared with those treated late (49%; p<0.0001).

Findings also suggest early use with Victoza® provides greater clinical benefit and potential improvement in beta-cell function, as compared with Victoza® treatment later in the disease process.

Patients treated early with Victoza® 1.8 mg demonstrated an improvement from baseline in HOMA-B that was 41.3% compared to 23.8% for those in whom Victoza® treatment was started late (p=0.0037). The homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) is a method used to quantify insulin resistance and beta-cell function.

"These results are encouraging as they demonstrate that Victoza® can be used in all stages of the disease process. In particular, patients who were administered Victoza® early following no previous treatment or only one OAD, showed a greater improvement in beta-cell function and more patients achieved target glycaemic control," Prof David Matthews, of the University of Oxford said.

Patients report increased satisfaction when switching from an oral therapy to a once-daily injectable therapy (Poster 796)2
Switching from oral therapy with sitagliptin to injectable therapy with Victoza® (both combined with metformin) results in significantly greater reductions in HbA1c and body weight and[3] also increases overall treatment satisfaction.[2] Treatment satisfaction was evaluated using the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (DTSQ) at 52 and 78 weeks to assess the impact of switching from an oral therapy to an injectable one.

Patients who switched to Victoza® had an increase in overall treatment satisfaction which was largely driven by patients who responded that they would 'recommend' and 'continue' their present treatment with Victoza®. The once-daily injectable therapy with Victoza® was also ranked by patients as equally convenient and flexible as the oral therapy with sitagliptin.

Study investigator, Professor Eduard Montanya from the Medical School of the University of Barcelona, Spain, said: "The increase in overall patient treatment satisfaction after a switch from sitagliptin to Victoza® is likely to be attributed to the improved treatment efficacy and the weight loss associated with Victoza®. This demonstrates the value of Victoza® in addressing two key patient needs in terms of efficacy and patient treatment satisfaction."

About Victoza®
Victoza® is the first and only human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue that is 97% similar to endogenous human GLP-1. Like natural GLP-1, Victoza® works by stimulating the beta cells to release insulin only when blood sugar levels are high.

Due to this glucose-dependent mechanism of action, Victoza® is associated with a low rate of hypoglycaemia. The mechanism of blood sugar lowering also involves a delay in gastric emptying.

Victoza® has been approved on 30 June 2009 by the European Commission in all 27 European Union member states. In Europe Victoza® is indicated for treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to achieve glycaemic control, in combination with or as an add on to metformin, sulphonylurea and thiazolidinedione. On 25 January 2010 Victoza was approved in the US as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.

As of 13 September 2011, Victoza® has been commercially launched in more than 36 countries globally including the US, Canada, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Hungary, Russia, India, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, the GULF and Malaysia as well as a number of other countries, and will be available in other markets throughout 2011 and 2012.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 88 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

1. Garber A et al. The impact of disease stage, indicated by number of previous oral antidiabetic agents, on the clinical benefits of liraglutide in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress, 2011.
2. Montanya E et al. In patients with type 2 diabetes, overall treatment satisfaction improves following a switch from sitagliptin to liraglutide treatment in combination with metformin. Presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress, 2011
3. Pratley R et al. Switching from the DDP-4 inhibitor sitagliptin to the human GLP-1 analog liraglutide further improves glycemic control and weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 2011;60 (Suppl. 1):Abstract 1119-P