Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly highlight positive Trajenta data

Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly have showcased a wide variety of positive data on the type 2 diabetes drug Trajenta at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Results from a large phase III trial have been discussed alongside three pooled analyses of previous phase III studies, all of which illustrate that Trajenta is effective and well-tolerated among patients with a variety of background therapies.

Data from the most recent trial shows that the drug delivers long-term safety and efficacy benefits compared to placebo among patients whose conditions are inadequately controlled on basal insulin therapy.

Of particular note was its performance among elderly patients, a vulnerable demographic affected by additional safety and tolerability concerns such as co-morbidities, compromised renal function and a heightened hypoglycaemia risk.

Professor Klaus Dugi, corporate senior vice-president for medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "As our clinical evidence base grows, so does our confidence that linagliptin offers an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with type 2 diabetes in need of effective blood glucose control."

Last month, the companies received a recommendation from Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for approval as an add-on therapy to insulin among adults with type 2 diabetes.