Liraglutide delays progression of renal events

By Editor
21st September 2016
Latest news, Pharmaceutical Research

The glucagonlike-peptide 2 (GLP-1) agonist liraglutide (Victoza) delays the progression of renal events, according to new research.

The findings, carried out by Novo Nordisk, found particularly delayed the new-onset of persistent new- macroalbuminuria in people with type 2 diabetes.

The data from the Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes: Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcome Results—A Long Term Evaluation (LEADER) trial were unveiled at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2016 Annual Meeting.

New and persistent

Johannes Mann, from the University of Erlangen in Germany, said: “On top of standard therapy, this GLP-1 agonist [liraglutide] reduced microvascular outcomes, particularly renal ones.”

He emphasised that the main driver for the microvascular outcomes was new and persistent macroalbuminuria, with a risk reduction of 26 per cent seen with liraglutide compared with placebo (both on top of standard therapy).

Per-Henrik Groop, professor of nephrology at the University of Helsinki in Finland, said that although these latest LEADER results “are reassuring, they will not be sufficient to give liraglutide an indication to reduce risk of renal events. For that they need a dedicated renal study”.

And although EMPA-REG is also a cardiovascular-outcomes trial mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to show that empagliflozin is safe and does not cause cardiovascular disease, Dr Groop observed that the renal data from that trial appear more encouraging.

He said: “It must be said that empagliflozin had a profound effect on the preservation of renal function, which was not seen with liraglutide. Furthermore, the renal effects of empagliflozin were seen rather early, in contrast to liraglutide, probably due to their totally different mechanisms of action.”

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