More ADA highlights, from Eli Lilly on dulaglutide, J&J on Invokana and GSK on albiglutide

Continued news from the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association being held in Chicago, includes presentations from US drug majors Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and the UK's GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK).

Eli Lilly announced detailed safety and efficacy results from three Phase III AWARD trials for dulaglutide, an investigational, long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist being studied as a once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes. In the trials, dulaglutide 1.5mg was superior to placebo and to exenatide (AWARD-1), metformin (AWARD-3) and sitagliptin (AWARD-5) in reducing HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c) levels.

In addition, a greater percentage of patients treated with dulaglutide 1.5mg achieved an HbA1c goal of less than 7% versus all active comparators. In all three studies, patients taking dulaglutide 1.5mg showed sustained weight loss for the duration of the trials. Patients taking dulaglutide 1.5mg showed significant weight loss compared to those treated with sitagliptin (AWARD-5), and showed similar weight loss to patients taking comparators in AWARD-1 and AWARD-3.