Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease requiring individualized and often multi-faceted treatment plans. Balancing glycemic control with adverse medication side effects can be challenging. Combination therapy of basal insulin and GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy appears to provide a balance between glycemic efficacy, hypoglycemia and weight gain.
Areas covered: Available pharmacokinetic data, clinical trials and abstracts regarding fixed-ratio combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide were reviewed. Literature was searched from PubMed and available abstracts using the search term IDegLira up to June 2016.
Expert opinion: Fixed-ratio combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide is associated with sustained glucose-lowering effects as assessed by HbA1c reduction. Overall, hypoglycemia is reduced and weight loss is observed compared to basal insulin alone. There is no significant increase in gastrointestinal side-effects, including nausea compared to non-glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. Pen injector delivery and dose-step titration allow for individualized therapy intensification. Combined treatment for type 2 diabetes with degludec and liraglutide therapy provides complementary therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Keywords: Degludec; IDegLira; liraglutide; pharmacokinetics.