Newly published data from real-world European clinical practice has shown that Xultophy^® (insulin degludec/liraglutide) significantly reduced blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes after six months. The study looked at patients with type 2 diabetes who were treatment-naïve or who had been switched to treatment with Xultophy^® from any combination of oral antidiabetic drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues, and/or insulin regimens in real-world clinical practice.

In the study population, Xultophy^® delivered a significant overall decrease in mean blood sugar (HbA_1c) of 0.9% to 7.5% at six months. Regardless of which treatment the study participants were switched from, the average decrease in blood sugar was significant. The average dose of Xultophy^® was 30 dose steps (representing 30 units of insulin) at six months, significantly lower than 50 dose steps which is the maximum approved dose of Xultophy^®.

"It’s exciting to see that Xultophy^® delivers significant benefits to people with type 2 diabetes in such a short period of time and in a real-world setting, providing better blood sugar control with just one injection per day regardless of previous treatment," said Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer at Novo Nordisk.

Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) rates were reduced by 82% in the six month period after initiating Xultophy^®, compared to the six month period before. Furthermore, average body weight was significantly reduced by 0.7 kg after six months of treatment vs baseline.

The European Xultophy^® Treatment Retrospective Audit (EXTRA) study was a European, multicentre, retrospective chart review which included 611 people with type 2 diabetes ≥ 18 years of age, who started on Xultophy^® at least six months prior to the start of the study. Blood sugar levels, body weight and rate of hypoglycaemic events were measured at baseline (up to six months before starting on Xultophy^®) and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after initiating Xultophy^®. Data was collected from clinics in Germany (n=450), Switzerland (n=84), the UK (n=44), Austria (n=19) and Sweden (n=14).

The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Xultophy^® is a once-daily single injection fixed-ratio combination of long-acting insulin degludec and the glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide in one pen. It is indicated for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycaemic control in combination with oral glucose-lowering medicinal products when these alone or combined with a GLP-1 receptor agonist or basal insulin do not provide adequate glycaemic control. Xultophy^® can be administered at any time of the day with or without meals, preferably at the same time of the day.