Improved glycaemic control and lower hypoglycaemia risk with reduced prior oral antidiabetes drug therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin glargine 300 U/ mL

Summary Aims Data from the EDITION 3 randomized study and the Clinformatics claims database were analysed to determine whether insulin glargine 300 U/ mL (Gla‐300) could provide insulin‐naive patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) on oral antidiabetes drugs ( OAD s) with reductions in prior OAD therapy without compromising glycaemic control, and while preserving its known low incidence of hypoglycaemia compared with insulin glargine 100 U/ mL (Gla‐100). Methods Patient‐level data from EDITION 3 and de‐identified data from the Clinformatics real‐world claims database were analysed. Results At baseline, 70% of patients in EDITION 3 were on a background of ≥2 OAD s. Among the 435 and 437 patients who initiated basal insulin with Gla‐300 and Gla‐100, respectively, at Month 6, 336 (77%) and 338 (77%) were using ≤1 OAD . Adding Gla‐300 or Gla‐100 similarly allowed for a reduction in background OAD medication in the Clinformatics dataset (N = 6430), such that, at 6 months postbasal insulin initiation, 14% of patients were no longer taking any OAD s. In the analysis of the EDITION 3 study, reduction in OAD burden did not compromise glycaemic benefit, and the low incidence of hypoglycaemia associated with Gla‐300 compared with Gla‐100 was also preserved. Documented symptomatic hypoglycaemia (blood glucose ≤70 mg/ dL ) occurred in 30.5% vs 41.0% of patients treated with Gla‐300 and Gla‐100, respectively ( P  =   0.0442). Conclusion Patients with T2D who initiate basal insulin with Gla‐300 could potentially reduce their prior OAD use without compromising glycaemic control and with less hypoglycaemia than with Gla‐100.