Aim:To determine the efficacy and safety of once‐weekly dulaglutide added to basal insulin in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with inadequate glycaemic control.
Materials and Methods:In the phase III, double‐blind AWARD‐CHN3 study, Chinese patients with T2DM (N = 291) and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥7.0% and ≤11.0% receiving stable doses of basal insulin glargine with metformin and/or acarbose were randomized (1:1) to receive add‐on dulaglutide 1.5 mg once weekly or placebo once weekly. The primary endpoint was the superiority of dulaglutide/glargine to placebo/glargine for change from baseline in HbA1c at Week 28.
Results:The least squares (LS) mean ± standard error change in HbA1c from baseline to Week 28 was −2.0 ± 0.08% with dulaglutide/glargine and −1.1 ± 0.07% with placebo/glargine (LS mean difference: −1.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] –1.1 to −0.8; P < 0.001), and more patients receiving dulaglutide/glargine achieved HbA1c levels <7.0% (75.9% vs. 33.8%; P < 0.001 vs. placebo/glargine). Body weight decreased with dulaglutide/glargine and increased with placebo/glargine (LS mean difference: −1.2 kg, 95% CI –1.8 to – 0.6; P < 0.001). Reductions in fasting serum glucose were greater with dulaglutide/glargine than with placebo/glargine (LS mean difference: −0.8 mmol/L, 95% CI –1.1 to – 0.5; P < 0.001). The incidence of hypoglycaemia was similar with dulaglutide/glargine and placebo/glargine (29.2% vs. 31.3%; P = 0.704); no patient in either group had severe hypoglycaemia. The most common treatment‐emergent adverse events with dulaglutide/glargine were decreased appetite (22.2%), diarrhoea (13.2%) and nausea (10.4%).
Conclusions:Dulaglutide added to basal insulin was efficacious and well tolerated in Chinese patients with T2DM.
