In a new study, researchers found taking drug efpeglenatide once a week could lead to reductions in blood sugar and body weight in people with early type 2 diabetes.
The research was conducted by an international team from the U.S., Spain, Germany, South Korea, and Canada.
The team evaluated the safety and efficacy of once-weekly efpeglenatide use in people with early type 2 diabetes.
Most of these people did not use any medications or only use metformin for their condition.
Efpeglenatide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA).
Among the participants, 181 were assigned to one of five efpeglenatide doses (0.3, 1, 2, 3, or 4 mg every week), 37 received a placebo and 36 received drug liraglutide for 12 weeks.
The team found that all efpeglenatide doses ≥1 mg strongly reduced HbA1c to a final HbA1c of 6.3 to 6.8%.
Compared with placebo, greater proportions treated with efpeglenatide ≥1 mg achieved better HbA1c.
The team also found greater reductions in body weight with efpeglenatide 3 and 4 mg versus placebo. After the initial two weeks, patients’ reports of nausea and vomiting decreased.
The team says using efpeglenatide once weekly could lead to a strong reduction in HbA1c and body weight in patients with early type 2 diabetes mostly on metformin monotherapy
The lead author of the study is Julio Rosenstock, M.D., from the Dallas Diabetes Research Center at Medical City.
The study is published in Diabetes Care.
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