The drug showed evidence that it can safely lower cardiovascular risk by 13 percent in patients with type 2 diabetes. Researchers hypothesized that liraglutide would be noninferior to placebo in the primary outcome, with a margin of 1.30 for the upper boundary of the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the hazard ratio (HR), according to study methodology. The rates of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure were nonsignificantly lower in the liraglutide group than in the placebo group.
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A significant 22 percent reduction in cardiovascular death was observed in patients taking Victoza versus those in the placebo arm, while a 15 percent drop in all-cause death was also recorded.
Furthermore, gastrointestinal events were the most frequent adverse events leading to the discontinuation of the study drug.
Victoza is only the second diabetes drug to show such heart benefits, after Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s pill Jardiance.
The trial lasted more than three years, and was funded by Novo Nordisk and by grants from the National Institutes of Health. It was also published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Today the issue of diabetes remains a problem of conscience and cultural; where the multifactorial disease is gaining ground in those who do not maintain a healthy life, consistent balanced diet and constant physical activity, added the expert. “It will be important to follow these patients over the next few years to see whether [Victoza] benefits continue and to investigate how it is working”, she said.
He believes doctors’ approach to type 2 diabetes treatment will now start to shift to a greater focus on minimising overall risks, rather than simply cutting blood sugar levels.
The researchers explained that Victoza is from a newer class of diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 agonists.
Liraglutide also works in the brain to reduce appetite and increase satiety – the sensation of feeling full, they said.
Dr. Gerald Bernstein coordinates the Friedman Diabetes Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
“The next big question”, Buse said, “is can we combine these two drugs to help patients with advanced type 2 diabetes who are at severe risk of cardiovascular complications?”
Type 2 Diabetes affects more than 370 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation.
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The firm said Victoza is the only approved GLP-1 receptor agonist to demonstrate a superior reduction of major CV events vs placebo, both on top of standard of care, in a cardiovascular outcomes trial.
