Two-year study of Tradjenta (Boehringer/Eli Lilly) shows reduced adverse effects in Type 2 Diabetes patients - 01-Jul-2012

A double-blind study which took place over two years in sixteen countries, examined the effects of Tradjenta (linagliptin), from Boehringer and Eli Lilly, versus glimepiride in more than 1,500 patients with Type 2 Diabetes who had not achieved normal glucose regulation through the use of metformin alone. The two treatments produced comparable improvements in patients' glucose regulation, but the study showed that the side effects of linagliptin appear to be considerably less severe than those of glimepiride, with just 7% of patients treated with linagliptin experiencing hypoglycaemia, compared to 38% of patients treated with glimepiride. The group treated with linagliptin also experienced fewer cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes compared to those treated with glimepiride. According to lead author Professor Baptist Gallwitz, Tübingen University Hospital, Germany, further studies will be needed to confirm this, as the study was not long enough to provide reliable evidence that linagliptin results in reduced cardiac risk. See: "2-year efficacy and safety of linagliptin compared with glimepiride in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on metformin: a randomised, double-blind, non-inferiority trial." by Baptist Gallwitz et al. The Lancet, Published Online June 28, 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60691-6