Head-to-head trial of diabetes drugs Victoza and Bydureon yields mixed results

A direct, head-to-head comparison of two of the newer treatments available for type 2 diabetes yielded mixed results. It was sponsored by the USA’s Amylin and partner Eli Lilly. Amylin is the manufacturer of Bydureon, the exenatide preparation that was used in this study. Results of the study were published on-line ahead of print on November 7, by The Lancet.

The 26-week, multicenter DURATION-6 clinical trial found that daily injections of liraglutide (Victoza, from Denmark’s Novo Nordisk) were slightly more effective than weekly injections of exenatide (Bydureon) in lowering blood sugar and promoting weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the patients taking exenatide suffered fewer negative side effects such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

"Both of these agents are very exciting diabetes products and really good blood sugar-lowering drugs," said John Buse, first author of the study, division chief of endocrinology and metabolism in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, director of the UNC Diabetes Care Center and a PI Extender of the UNC NIH Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA), noting that “the results of this study will be helpful to both doctors and patients in shared decision-making about which of these two drugs is better suited for a particular patient. For example, for some patients the additional weight loss advantage provided by liraglutide might tip the scales in favor of that drug. For other patients, though, the greater convenience of once-weekly injections and the more favorable side effects profile of exenatide would be extremely appealing."