Getting the needle with GLP-1 treatment

Whichever way you put it, it seems that many people with type 2 diabetes are getting the needle when it comes to their GLP-1 agonist therapy.


This is a very useful treatment in terms of its efficacy in lowering blood glucose levels and lack of association with weight gain, maybe even achieving weight loss, an important benefit for people with type 2 diabetes.
However, when we spoke to HCPs at our stand at EASD in October it was evident that the devices associated with it currently are far from ideal.

CMR’s John Reynard commented: “GLP–1 products for type 2 diabetes are clearly the new frontier in treatment and, if used correctly, can help a patient manage their diabetes and possibly avoid insulin injections but this is highly dependent on the patient being compliant with their medication.”
People with type 2 diabetes are not used to self-injection and the process has to be made as easy as possible for them. Furthermore taking a GLP-1 is the step taken when oral treatments like Metformin have not been successful for diabetes management, which suggests a history of non-compliance in either medication, diet, exercise, or all of the above.

Currently we have a trade off between a once a week injection with Amylin’s Bydureon, that involves a complicated 15 piece kit with a large needle capable of dispensing a higher viscosity; and the more convenient, prefilled, disposable smaller injection pens offered by Novo Nordisk’s Victoza or Amylin’s Byetta, which have to be injected daily or twice daily.

“We discovered that healthcare professionals frequently encounter concerns that patients either fear the idea of becoming drug dependent through daily injection or can be intimidated by the complexity of the 15 piece kit.”, added John.

“Through our own research with patients we understand the conflicting needs of managing diabetes – a disease that takes over a person’s life and takes a considerable amount of time and effort to manage properly, and a reluctance to embody the thought that they are different from their peers - and this requires devices that are both simple and discreet.”
Any comment would be welcome on the above from both manufacturers and HCP’s, this is very much the new frontier in diabetes and the more discussion and exchange we have the better.