Efficacy and safety of saxagliptin in drug-naive Asian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial
Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 05/04/2012  Clinical Article

Pan CY et al. – Saxagliptin improved glycaemic control and was well tolerated in drug–naïve Asian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

• Five hundred sixty-eight drug-naïve adult patients with T2DM and glycated haemoglobin levels (HbA1c) of 7.0–10.0% (53–86 mmol/mol) were randomized 1:1 to receive saxagliptin 5 mg daily or placebo.
• Efficacy endpoints included changes from baseline to week 24 in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial glucose area under the curve from 0 to 180 min (PPG AUC0–180), and the proportion of patients achieving HbA1c <7.0% (53 mmol/mol). Adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs) were evaluated.

• Saxagliptin provided statistically significant adjusted mean decreases from baseline to week 24 compared with placebo, respectively, in HbA1c (-0.84% [-9 mmol/mol] versus -0.34% [-4 mmol/mol]; p < 0.0001), FPG (-0.90 versus -0.17 mmol/L; p < 0.0001), and PPG AUC0–180 (-417 versus -235 mmol • min/L; p = 0.0010).
• A significantly greater proportion of patients achieved a therapeutic glycaemic response (HbA1c <7.0% [53 mmol/mol]) with saxagliptin (45.8%) versus placebo (28.8%; p < 0.0001).
• The proportions of patients who experienced ≥1 AE (excluding hypoglycaemia) was 43.3% for saxagliptin and 35.6% for placebo.
• Few patients in either treatment group experienced an SAE (2.8%, saxagliptin; 1.4%, placebo).
• A low proportion of patients reported hypoglycaemic events (1.8%, saxagliptin; 0.7%, placebo).