A new convenient tablet for the treatment of type 2 diabetes has been launched in the UK.

Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly’s Jentadueto was licensed in Europe in July earlier this year after Phase III data showed it led to a significant reduction in HbA1c glucose levels.

Jentadueto combines metformin with the dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-IV inhibitor Trajenta (linagliptin) in a single pill.

Dr Richard Brice, Chair of Whitstable Medical Practice, said the new treatment provides patients with a convenient alternative to existing options. “Compliance is a recurring problem for patients, especially those with comorbidities such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, cardiovascular disease and depression, struggling to take a number of tablets every day,” he said.

The prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase rapidly in the UK in coming years – placing further pressure on healthcare services. By 2030, it’s expected that more than 5.5 million people in the UK will have diabetes.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have launched Trajenta (linagliptin), a single dose, once-daily tablet for adults with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the UK.

Trajenta has been shown to deliver significant HbA1c reductions compared to placebo and was generally well tolerated in clinical trials involving more than 4,000 patients.

Professor Anthony Barnett, Consultant Physician and Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and University of Birmingham, says its release is “an important advance in the management” of diabetes.

The drug is licensed for adults with T2MD as a monotherapy in patients inadequately controlled by diet and exercise alone, and for whom metformin is inappropriate due to intolerance, or contraindicated due to renal impairment.

It is also licensed in combination with metformin when diet and exercise plus metformin alone do not provide adequate glycaemic control; and in combination with a sulphonylurea and metformin when diet and exercise plus dual therapy with these medicinal products do not provide adequate glycaemic control.

In clinical trials, a mean HbA1c reduction from baseline of 0.7% was sustained over 102 weeks as add on to metformin and a sulphonylurea in patients using Trajenta.

Around a third of people with diabetes are affected by chronic kidney disease. The convenient tablet is the only dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DDP-4) inhibitor which is primarily excreted via the bile, and the first in this class licensed for use in T2DM, irrespective of degree of renal impairment.

“Linagliptin offers the benefits of the DPP-4 inhibitor class with good tolerability, weight neutrality and low risk of hypoglycaemia and the additional advantage of health professionals being able to prescribe without dose adjustment irrespective of the patient's renal function,” added Professor Anthony Barnett. “Renal impairment is common in people with type 2 diabetes so this latter point is extremely important.”

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have received Marketing Authorisation from the European Commission (EC) for its type 2 diabetes tablet Trajenta (linagliptin).

The EC has approved Trajenta in combination with metformin and metformin plus sulphonylurea after clinical trials involving approximately 6,000 adults showed it reduced haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels.

Professor Klaus Dugi, Corporate Senior Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim, says Trajenta has been shown to be a “reliable and efficacious treatment” for type II diabetes.

The tablet has also been approved for use as monotherapy in patients who have not responded to diet and exercise alone, and for whom metformin is inappropriate.

Unlike other DPP-4 inhibitors, Trajenta is primarily excreted unmetabolised via bile and gut which means there is no dose adjustment required for adult patients that may have declining kidney or liver function.

Professor Anthony Barnett, Consultant Physician, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of Birmingham, says that with Trajenta only available at a single 5mg dose, it is “convenient for physicians”.

“The EU approval of linagliptin marks another major regulatory milestone for the Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly alliance in diabetes,” said Enrique Conterno, President of Lilly Diabetes. “Linagliptin can be an important treatment option for people living with type II diabetes.”

Boehringer and Lilly began an alliance in January this year that centres on four pipeline compounds which represent several of the largest treatment classes in the field of diabetes.