Using long-term data from the DURATION-1 study, Robert Henry and team have demonstrated that those who had used exenatide once weekly for 6 years sustained significant improvements from baseline in HbA1c, with 46.3% achieving an HbA1c <53 mmol/mol (<7.0%) and 33.1% achieving an HbA1c ≤6.5% (≤48 mmol/mol). There were also significant improvements from baseline in fasting plasma glucose (−1.6 mmol/L) and body weight (−4.2 kg) at 6 years. Additionally, 78 people who were treated with exenatide once weekly who did not require additional glucose-lowering medications achieved greater reductions in body weight than the overall cohort. Finally, there were no unexpected adverse events observed during more than 1000 patient-years of exposure.
The original DURATION-1 study randomised people over the age of 16 years with type 2 diabetes to receive the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist exenatide once weekly 2 mg or exenatide twice daily 10 μg for 30 weeks. Following the original intent-to-treat trial, patients entered an uncontrolled, open-label, open-ended study phase in which all participants received exenatide QW 2 mg. Of the 295 people enrolled and randomised in the initial cohort, nearly half (n=136; 46%) continued exenatide QW treatment for 6 years.
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