The FINANCIAL — New Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) data presented on September 20 at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) congress in Stockholm, challenge the widespread perception that patients prefer oral to injected glucose-lowering therapies.
Results from the 26-week, open-label study show that patients taking injectable Victoza (liraglutide 1.8 mg) reported significantly higher overall treatment satisfaction after 26 weeks than those receiving oral Januvia (sitagliptin) (scores of 4.35 vs 2.96 respectively, p=0.03).1 Notably, patients rated Victoza 1.8 mg as convenient as Januvia and were more likely both to continue treatment themselves, and to recommend Victoza to another patient.1
Additional data from the study demonstrated that both HbA1c reduction and weight loss were significantly greater with Victoza 1.8 mg than Januvia when added to a stable dose of metformin. Results presented today show that 50% of patients taking Victoza 1.8 mg lost >3% of their body weight compared with just 20% of patients taking Januvia®, with the amount of weight loss significantly higher in patients treated with Victoza.3
Study investigator, Professor Melanie Davies from the University Hospitals of Leicester, UK, said: “Some clinicians remain reluctant to use injectable therapies as they perceive them to be more complex and less desirable than oral treatments. However, these findings with Victoza® challenge these perceptions as in our study patients prefer an injected to an oral therapy probably because it offers greater improvement in glycaemic control, and facilitates significant weight loss.”
