New diabetes drug has lower risk of hypoglycemia

A new type 2 diabetes medication called TAK-875 significantly lowers the risk of hypoglycemia than the conventional diabetes drug glimepiride, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan.

The oral treatment TAK-875 enhances insulin secretion only when glucose levels are abnormal. Therefore, it can improve blood glucose levels without causing a danger drop in blood sugar.

More than 625 type 2 diabetes patients were assigned one of five doses of TAK-875, glimepiride, or a placebo. Researchers measured hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) at the start of the study and at 12 weeks.

Patients who took the doses of TAK-875 had significantly lower HbA1c after 12 weeks than patients who took the placebo. Likewise, patients taking glimepiride had similarly reduced HbA1c.

The incidence of hypoglycemia among TAK-875 groups and the placebo group was 2 percent. This is significantly lower than the 19 percent of glimepiride patients who experienced hypoglycemia.

“We are truly excited about the potential of TAK-875 and are eager to conduct larger trials to find out how well this drug works, how safe it is and what its place is in the treatment of diabetes,” said the authors of the study.

Within 12 weeks, 33 to 48 percent of patients taking a 25 mg or higher dose of TAK-875 reached the American Diabetes Association target of HbA1c less than 7 percent. This compares to 19 percent of placebo patients and 40 percent of glimepiride patients.

Treatment-related side effects for the glimepiride group was significantly higher at 61 percent due an increased incidence of hypoglycemia. The TAK-875 groups and placebo group experienced side effects at a similar rate of 49 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

TAK-875 is a type of drug that activates the free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1), also know as G protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40). FFAR1 boosts insulin release from beta cells when glucose and fatty acids rise in the blood. TAK-875 has no effect on insulin secretion when glucose levels are normal.

“TAK-875 significantly improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes with minimum risk of hypoglycemia. The results show that activation of FFAR1 is a viable therapeutic target for treatment of type 2 diabetes,” said the authors of the study.

A paper on the research study was published Online First Sunday in The Lancet.

Source: University of Michigan