Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Mar;9(3):69-79.
doi: 10.1177/2042018817752315. Epub 2018 Jan 19.

A review of the new GLP-1 receptor agonist/basal insulin fixed-ratio combination products

Wesley Nuffer  1 , Ashley Guesnier  2 , Jennifer M Trujillo  2
Affiliations
Review

A review of the new GLP-1 receptor agonist/basal insulin fixed-ratio combination products

Wesley Nuffer et al. Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

There have been several new treatment approaches established for the management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes (T2D), with treatment guidelines listing both glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and basal insulin therapies as considerations for patients who have failed to control their blood glucose with oral antidiabetic agents. New studies have highlighted the importance of initiating combination therapy earlier in the T2D disease process to avoid clinical inertia and prevent the long-term complications arising from uncontrolled diabetes. Until recently, both GLP-1 RAs and basal insulin therapies were only available as single agents, but there are now two combination pen devices that deliver both a GLP-1 RA and basal insulin simultaneously. This article reviews the current clinical evidence evaluating the use of these combination GLP-1 RA/basal insulin preparations to treat T2D, presents both potential benefits as well as possible downsides with the use of these agents, and discusses the current place in therapy these products represent in the management of T2D.

Keywords: GLP-1 agonists; basal insulin; combination products; injections; type 2 diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: Wesley Nuffer and Ashley Guesnier have no conflicts of interest to declare. Jennifer Trujillo has served as a consultant on the Sanofi ad board.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Example of combination product labeling on pen injector device.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes statistics report, 2017, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-stat... (2017, accessed 23 August 2017).
    1. DeFronzo RA, Eldor R, Abdul-Ghani M. Pathophysiologic approach to therapy in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2013; 36(Suppl. 2): S127–138. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marathe PH, Gao HX, Close KL. American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2017. J Diabetes 2017; 9: 320–324. - PubMed
    1. King P, Peacock I, Donnelly R. The UK prospective diabetes study (UKPDS): clinical and therapeutic implications for type 2 diabetes. Br J Clin Pharmacol 1999; 48: 643–648. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stark Casagrande S, Fradkin JE, Saydah SH, et al. The prevalence of meeting A1C, blood pressure, and LDL goals among people with diabetes, 1988–2010. Diabetes Care 2013; 36: 2271–2279. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources