Lilly shows that innovation in diabetes is not dead yet

Advantage Lilly. Just when the steam seemed to have run out of diabetes drug development the group released phase II data on its novel glucose-lowering GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist combination LY3298176 that show it outperforming its own Trulicity at the highest doses. Rival Novo Nordisk might find whatever momentum it regained in this space with its Trulicity challenger Ozempic to be short-lived, since Lilly’s data came from a trial testing four doses of LY3298176 against placebo and Trulicity. Three doses, 5mg, 10mg and 15mg once weekly, outperformed Trulicity in HbA1c reductions at 26 weeks. More patients taking those doses of LY3298176 achieved the recommended HbA1c target of 7% – 90% of them at the 10mg dose – than with Trulicity (52%). Patients in the 15mg group lost an average of 11kg of body weight, compared with 2.7kg for Trulicity. Combined with a safety profile that looks similar to those of Trulicity and other GLP-1s, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea being the most common side effects, Lilly has every reason to advance this agent into its phase III Surpass programme. Lilly shares finished yesterday up 4%. Novo’s were down 7%.