Patent Application: US-201213617341-A

Abstract:
this invention relates to a method of reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a prediabetic or type 2 diabetes patient population . the method comprises administering an effective dosage of a long acting insulin , preferably insulin glargine , to a prediabetic or type 2 diabetes patient .

Description:
study hoe901 - 1021 was conducted to test the safety , efficacy , and tolerability of lantus ® lantus ( also known as hoe901 and insulin glargine ) in treating individuals with igt , ifg , and mild diabetes . as stated earlier , this patient population is at high risk for cv disease . study hoe901 / 1021 was a randomized , single - blind ( pharmacist - unblinded ), inpatient , dose - titration study designed to examine the safety and efficacy of hoe901 given once a day subcutaneously at bedtime in a novel population : people with impaired glucose tolerance ( igt ) or impaired fasting glucose ( ifg ). it was conceived as a pilot study for a large international trial of hoe901 in a dysglycemic population of igt , ifg , and early type 2 diabetes in order to investigate dosing in the prediabetic ( ifg / igt ) population for the first time . of special interest was the incidence of hypoglycemia during the study . the study was conducted at three centers in the us . after screening tests , including fasting plasma glucose ( fpg ) and post prandial plasma glucose ( ppg ; two hours following a 75 g oral glucose load ) for classification as igt , ifg , diabetic , or normal glucose tolerance ( ngt ), and after satisfying other inclusion criteria including the ability to perform moderate exercise on a stationary bicycle , subjects were admitted to an inpatient study center . they were confined there for the next 15 days , during which time they were randomly assigned to receive either hoe901 once per day subcutaneously in the evening , or matching placebo ( saline ) injections in a 3 : 1 randomization ( hoe901 : placebo ). baseline assessments included a 5 - point ( before each meal , bedtime , and 3 am ) and 8 - point ( 5 - point plus readings 2 hours after each meal ) blood glucose profile on separate days , and 15 minutes of exercise on a stationary bicycle at a level of exertion of “ somewhat hard ” on the borg scale with blood glucose values monitored during and for 3 hours following the exercise . each subject received a 25 kcal / kg diet while confined in the study center . capillary whole blood glucose values were recorded on hemocue devices . episodes of hypoglycemia ( blood glucose 50 mg / dl [ 2 . 8 mm ] or symptoms with blood glucose 65 mg / dl [ 3 . 6 mm ]) were recorded . once randomized , subjects &# 39 ; bedtime doses of study drug were titrated to achieve a fasting blood glucose ( fbg ) of 80 - 95 mg / dl [ 4 . 4 mm - 5 . 3 mm ]. dose increases were based on fbg values and were performed every 2 days . subjects remained at the site until the end of the confinement period , regardless of when target fbg levels were achieved . five - point blood glucose profiles were performed every other day , with 8 - point blood glucose profiles performed on alternate days . at endpoint all baseline procedures , including an 8 - point blood glucose profile , and an exercise assessment , were repeated . subjects were treated from 18 feb . 2002 to 17 apr . 2002 . data from the study are still being analyzed , but principal results of the study are summarized below . twenty - one subjects were enrolled into the study . two discontinued before completion : 1 hoe901 subject due to hypoglycemia , who however , never received study drug , and 1 subject withdrew prior to randomization . nineteen subjects completed the study , 15 in the hoe901 group and 4 in the placebo group . the table below summarizes the demographic and baseline characteristics of these subjects . although it was intended to enroll only igt / ifg subjects , difficulties in locating enough of these subjects in the timeframe allotted for enrollment necessitated the inclusion of subjects who were found to be diabetic at screening ( none were known to be diabetic prior to the study ). two subjects were enrolled with ngt ( fpg and ppg of 100 and 133 , and 95 and 135 mg / dl , respectively ). the starting dose following randomization for all subjects was initially set at 6 iu . because of the occurrence of hypoglycemia in 2 subjects at this dose , the starting dose was reduced to 41u . the mean dose at endpoint ( day 12 ) was 8 . 4 iu for hoe901 ( 0 . 096 iu / kg ), and 17 . 0 iu ( 0 . 195 iu / kg ) for placebo . all but 2 subjects in the hoe901 group had reached an fpg of 100 mg / dl by day 12 , and all but 4 had reached the fbg target of 95 mg / dl or less . fig . i displays the mean blood glucose values on the 8 - point profiles at day − 1 ( baseline ) and on day 12 ( endpoint ). as seen , there were small reductions from baseline to endpoint in mean blood glucose concentrations in the hoe901 group , ranging from 2 . 0 to 13 . 3 mg / dl at different time points . mean fbg was reduced from 98 . 1 to 85 . 6 mg / dl , and mean daylong blood glucose was reduced by 8 . 8 mg / dl , in the hoe901 group . in the hoe901 group the lowering of blood glucose from day − 1 to day 12 was not confined to the fasting time point , but occurred daylong , at each time point . in contrast , in the placebo group mean blood glucose values increased at most time points , with a mean fpg increase from 103 . 8 to 111 . 3 mg / dl and a mean daylong blood glucose increase of 8 . 2 mg / dl . the placebo group mean response was heavily influenced by 1 of the 4 subjects who had large increases in 8 - point blood glucose over the course of the study , for unclear reasons . it is clear from these data and the mean screening values in the table above that there was a drop in mean fasting glucose in the hoe901 group between screening and day − 1 ( baseline ). differences in blood glucose measurements ( plasma at screening , whole blood at day − 1 ) contributed to the observed drop in blood glucose between these two time points , however , the likely reason for most of this difference was the institution of a diet policy in both groups ( in this study a diet similar to what would be prescribed in these subjects in practice ( 25 kcal / kg ) was used ). diet compliance in subjects with dysglycemia is classically poor , but because the subjects were confined in this study , they were perforce adherent to the diet regimen , and it was effective in lowering their blood glucose levels . no such decrease in mean fbg occurred between screening and day − 1 in the 5 subjects taking placebo . mean body weight was reduced in both the placebo group and hoe 901 over the course of the study , by 0 . 25 and 0 . 44 kg respectively . fig . ii below illustrates mean blood glucose responses before (− 0 . 25 hr ) and for 3 hours following the 15 - minute stationary bicycle exercise period . as can be seen , mean blood glucose was similar before and after treatment with hoe901 , and did not approach the hypoglycemic range . in the placebo group mean blood glucose showed a notable increase from day − 1 to day 12 , due to 2 of the 4 subjects in that group who demonstrated large increases over baseline by day 12 , for reasons which are unclear but are possibly related to relative physical inactivity over the 2 weeks of confinement , with resultant decreased insulin sensitivity at the time of the assessment on day 12 . it is noteworthy that no hypoglycemic events were reported during exercise for any subject . treatment - emergent adverse events ( teaes ) occurred in 10 subjects in the hoe901 group ( 16 events ) vs . 2 in the placebo group ( 5 events ). each event occurred in only 1 individual except for headache , which occurred in 3 hoe901 subjects . only 2 hoe901 subjects and 1 placebo subject had events that were considered by investigators as possibly related to study drug . the hoe901 events were 2 episodes of headache , and one of hypoglycemia . the two headaches occurred in subjects who had hypoglycemic events on the same days and at approximately the same time as the headaches . there were no serious adverse events during the study . subject 3011 ( who reported dizziness as an adverse event during screening ) was removed from the study by the sponsor prior to receiving any study drug dose because of hypoglycemia that occurred during screening . hoe901 treatment plus modest calorie restriction was effective in lowering blood glucose values in these dysglycemic individuals to target fbg levels . daylong ( 8 - point ) blood glucose profiles were lowered in parallel to fpg in the hoe901 group . a relatively low dose of hoe901 ( mean of only 8 . 4 iu ) was required to achieve the glucose goals under these test conditions . blood glucose profiles in response to exercise fell only modestly over the course of the study in the hoe901 group . blood glucose responses in the placebo group increased over the course of the study in both 8 - point and exercise assessments , but the small size of this group and the atypical responses of 1 or 2 subjects makes drawing conclusions from the placebo responses difficult . only mild hypoglycemia occurred in 4 out of 16 subjects treated with hoe901 in this study . these hypoglycemic events generally occurred before lunch or supper , and resolved promptly with oral caloric intake . no episodes of hypoglycemia occurred in relation to exercise . although the calorie - restricted diet subjects consumed during this study doubtless played a role in the occurrence of these events , the diet was typical in size for what is recommended to these frequently overweight individuals . based on this study in individuals with igt , ifg , or mild untreated type 2 diabetes , the administration of hoe 901 seems safe and well tolerated . hypoglycemia can occur , but is manageable not related to exercise , and detectable with the aid of home glucose monitoring . thus in this study it was possible to use lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) to treat the mildly hyperglycemic subjects to normoglycemic levels without hypoglycemia in relation to exercise . these data have prompted the undertaking of a large intervention trial , the origin study , wherein it is expected that lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) will be shown to be efficacious in reducing cv disease , with low risk for producing hypoglycemic side effects in relation to the exercise which forms a cornerstone of the glucose management of these individuals . the origin study will randomly allocate approximately 10 , 000 subjects with igt , ifg , or early type 2 diabetes at risk for cardiovascular morbidity ( because of a history of previous serious cardiovascular events , or because of significant cardiovascular risk factors ) either to treatment with a single injection of lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) per day , titrated to produce a fpg of 95 mg / dl or less without hypoglycemia , or to standard treatment of each condition . examples of serious cardiovascular events include , but are not limited to , previous myocardial infarction , stroke , angina with documented ischemic changes , previous coronary , carotid or peripheral arterial revascularization , or left ventricular hypertrophy by electrocardiogram or echocardiogram . examples of significant cardiovascular risk factors include , but are not limited to , previous myocardial infarction , stroke , angina with documented ischemic changes , previous coronary , carotid or peripheral arterial revascularization , or left ventricular hypertrophy by electrocardiogram or echocardiogram . this standard treatment plan includes a stepped - care algorithm for the institution of therapy in subjects who are either diabetic at baseline , or who become so during the trial . monitoring of , and treatment intervention in , these control subjects will occur in a manner that is at least as aggressive as that recommended by currently - accepted standards of care ( e . g . ada guidelines ). the morbidity / mortality study will be multicenter , international , randomized , and open - label , with a mean treatment duration of 5 years . the primary outcome variable is a composite cardiovascular endpoint of cardiovascular deaths , nonfatal mi and stroke , revascularization , hospitalization for heart failure chf , and unstable angina . secondary variables include all - cause mortality and rates of development or progression of microvascular disease . a separate investigation will examine the progression to type 2 diabetes in the igt and ifg subjects treated with lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) versus usual care . despite the novelty of the treatment paradigm proposed for the origin study , it is believed that hypoglycemia will be minimal based on several factors : 1 . the 24 - hour plasma insulin profile without a definite peak resulting from lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) administration , decreasing the vulnerability of patients to excessive insulin concentrations which have historically occurred at unpredictable times during the day , and to unpredictable degrees , with other insulin preparations . 2 . the gradual dose titration scheme proposed for the study . lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) doses will start low , from 2 - 6 iu per day and the insulin administered will be distributed over a 24 - hour period . dose increases will be small , and made only after fpg levels from previous doses have reached steady - state . 3 . the goal of lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) titration is a target fpg of 95 mg / dl . this is at the upper end of the normal range for subjects without diabetes . many igt subjects in this trial will have an fpg in the target range from the start of the study , and if assigned to receive lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) will consequently receive the starting dose only . in any case , the risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia resulting from lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) administration which has reduced fpg to the vicinity of 95 mg / dl should be minimal , especially since most of these subjects will exhibit a degree of decreased insulin sensitivity . 4 . subjects will be asked to monitor their blood glucose at home especially during titration , to detect any tendency to hypoglycemia in that setting ( peri - exercise , after missed meals , overnight ). the results of the 1021 study which confirmed the safety and tolerability of lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) in drug - naïve type 2 diabetes patients as well as in prediabetic individuals , also support lantus &# 39 ; lantus &# 39 ; ( insulin glargine ) special usefulness in patients with moderate to severe ddl . insulin has features that make it especially useful in the patient with pronounced diabetic dyslipidemia , as compared to the oral antidiabetic agents usually used as initial pharmacotherapy . the “ treat - to - target ” study ( hoe901 / 4002 ) of lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) in a type 2 diabetic population inadequately treated with oral drugs was notable in demonstrating the success of lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) and its comparator , nph insulin , in reducing blood glucose levels to target levels in the majority of randomized patients . nph insulin despite having a prolonged duration of action , has a pronounced peak effect from 3 - 6 hours after injection , rendering it less suitable in the management of the patient with milder diabetes due to the risk for hypoglycemia . indeed even in this more severely diabetic population lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) demonstrated significant advantages over nph in hypoglycemia , especially nocturnal hypoglycemia . as a consequence of the excellent glycemic control attained , which set the standard for glycemic control in future trials , the 4002 study results are especially useful as an assessment of lantus &# 39 ; s lantus ( insulin glargine ) effects on lipids . the effects of lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) in the population of the “ treat - to - target ” 4002 study on fasting tg levels increased with the magnitude of baseline tg elevations : reductions of 24 %, 34 %, and 38 % were seen in fasting tg levels with , respectively , all patients ; those with fasting tg in the 300 - 499 mg / dl range ( 13 % of the 4002 population ); and those with elevations of 500 mg / dl or more ( another 8 % of the 4002 population ). it is also notable that highly statistically significant reductions in non - hdl - cholesterol ( see below ) were seen in the two pooled treatments in the 4002 study , greater in magnitude the higher the baseline level of tg . there is evidence from the literature that use of sulfonylurea ( su ) as initial drug treatment of the type 2 patient with ddl exerts a weaker effect on reduction of hypertriglyceridemia , or on increasing hdl - c , than is seen with insulin , and / or that the effects are less durable . in order to compare the effects of lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) on fasting tg and non - hdl - c levels with oral agents from the sulfonylurea class , the glimepiride ( amaryl ® amaryl ) database at aventis was examined . both multicenter placebo - controlled studies in the amaryl ® amaryl ( glimepiride ) registration database demonstrated a more modest effect of amaryl ® amaryl ( glimepiride ) on both tg and non - hdl - c concentrations than lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) demonstrated in the 4002 study , despite a prominent effect of amaryl ® amaryl ( glimepiride ) to lower blood glucose . these results are shown in table 1 below for patients with various levels of fasting hypertriglyceridemia . the lipid - lowering effects of metformin are variable depending on the study and clinical setting , but while the tg - lowering and hdl - increasing effects of metformin are generally superior to su , they do not exceed the effects of insulin quoted above . thiazolidinediones ( tzds ) differ in their effects — pioglitazone is associated with notable beneficial effects on the abnormalities of ddl , whereas rosiglitazone seems to have almost no effect on these parameters ( confirmed significantly inferior to lantus lantus ( insulin glargine ) in study 4014 , which compared lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ) and rosiglitazone in type 2 diabetic patients already treated with other oral antidiabetic drugs — see table 2 below ). the special advantages of insulin in the treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia , which along with insulin &# 39 ; s established effectiveness in blood glucose control , suggest that it is a preferred treatment compared to available oral antidiabetic drugs . until recently , the drug treatment of blood glucose elevations in drug - naïve diabetic patients has consisted of oral antidiabetic agents because of a fear of hypoglycemia from the use of insulin in this population . the novel development is the availability of lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ), the first truly basal insulin , which by virtue of its flat pharmacokinetic profile and 24 - hour duration of action , can supply a steady insulin effect with low risk for hypoglycemia due to the lack of a pronounced peak effect . because of this , insulin treatment of the diabetic patient previously treated with lifestyle measures only , is possible , and thus insulin treatment of patients in this category with pronounced diabetic dyslipidemia is possible , to reduce their elevated blood lipid values as well as their elevated blood glucose values . in view of the data described above , treatment with long acting insulin , particularly insulin glargine , is expected to safely and effectively retard atherosclerosis progression in patients with igf , ifg or type 2 diabetes , particularly early type 2 diabetes by improving glycemic control and by additional mechanisms including decreased free fatty acid production , improved control of dyslipidemia , decreased oxidative stress and increased endothelial nitric oxide availability . treatment with long acting insulin , particularly insulin glargine , is also expected to safely and effectively improve vascular function in patients with igt , ifg or type 2 diabetes , particularly early type 2 diabetes . long acting insulin , particularly insulin glargine , is expected to improve endothelial function based on its effects on smooth muscle cells , endothelial cells , suppression of cytokines , coagulants and increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase . coronary endothelial dysfunction is defined as an impaired vasodilatory response to intracoronary infusion of acetylcholine ( ach ) and is predictive of vascular events . acute studies have shown that a physiological increase in the circulating insulin concentration potentiates ach - induced vasodilation . 43 in another study , after two months of insulin therapy , patients with type 2 diabetes saw an increase in the blood flow response to ach and restored the ability of insulin to acutely potentiate ach - induced vasodilation . 44 finally , patients with diabetes have been shown to have increased left ventricular mass and abnormalities in left ventricular ( lv ) diastolic and systolic function , often referred to as diabetic cardiomyopathy . these abnormalities may extend also to patients with “ mild ” prediabetic hyperglycemic disorders . treatment with long acting insulin , particularly insulin glargine , is expected to prevent an increase in lv mass and improve or prevent an increase in both lv diastolic and systolic function in patients with igt , ifg or type 2 diabetes , particularly early type 2 diabetes . treatment with long acting insulin , particularly glargine , is expected to prevent an increase in carotid intimal thickness of the extracranial carotid artery . measurement of carotid intimal thickness is a highly reproducible technique , which correlates with risk factors for atherosclerosis progression in coronary disease and stroke ( n engl j med . 1999 ; 340 : 14 - 22 ). angiotensin - converting enzyme inhibitors and the insulin sensitizing thiazolidinediones are all agents which have been shown to reduce carotid intimal thickness in placebo controlled trials ( circulation . 2001 ; 103 : 919 - 925 ; j clin endocrinol metab 1998 ; 83 : 1818 - 1820 ; j clin endocrinol metab 2001 ; 86 : 34552 - 3456 ). the amount of long acting insulin necessary to achieve the desired biological effect depends on a number of factors , for example the specific long acting insulin chosen , the intended use , the mode of administration and the clinical condition of the patient . the daily dose of insulin glargine is generally in the range from 2 to about 150 iu per day . more preferred is a daily dose in range in the range of 2 to about 80 iu per day . even more preferred is a daily dose in the range of about 2 to about 40 iu per day . as used herein , the term “ patient ” means a warm blooded animal , such as for example rat , mice , dogs , cats , guinea pigs , and primates such as humans . as used herein , the term “ treat ” or “ treating ” means to alleviate symptoms , eliminate the causation of the symptoms either on a temporary or permanent basis , or to prevent or slow the appearance of symptoms of the named disorder or condition . as used herein , the term “ effective dosage ” means a quantity of the compound which is effective in treating the named disorder or condition . as used herein , the term “ long acting insulin ” is an insulin analog that is a long acting ( up to 24 - hour duration of action ) blood glucose lowering agent . such long acting insulins include , but are not limited to , lantus ® lantus ( insulin glargine ), nph , lente ® lente human insulin zinc suspension ( rdna origin ), ultralente ® ultralente human insulin extended zinc suspension ( rdna origin ), and semilente ® semilente ( prompt insulin zinc suspension ). as used herein , the term “ early type 2 diabetes ” is defined as a fpg ≧ 126 mg / dl ( 7 . 0 mm ) or a ppg ≧ 200 mg / dl ( 11 . 1 mm ), or a previous diagnosis of diabetes , and either : 1 ) on no pharmacological treatment ( while ambulatory ) for at least 10 weeks prior to screening with screening glycated hemoglobin & lt ; 150 % of the upper limit of normal for the laboratory ( e . g . & lt ; 9 % if the upper limit is 6 %) or 2 ) taking one oad ( from among sulfonylureas , biguanides , thiazolidinediones , alpha - glucosidase inhibitors , and meglitinides ) at a stable dose for at least 10 weeks at the time of screening ( or for the 10 weeks prior to hospitalization if identified while hospitalized for a cv event ), with screening glycated hemoglobin & lt ; 133 % of the upper limit of normal for the laboratory ( e . g . & lt ; 8 % if the upper limit is 6 %) if taking this medication at half - maximum dose or greater , and glycated hemoglobin & lt ; 142 % of the upper limit of normal for the laboratory ( e . g . & lt ; 8 . 5 % if the upper limit is 6 %) if taking this medication at less than half - maximum dose . the citation of any reference herein should not be construed as an admission that such reference is available as “ prior art ” to the instant application . various publications are cited herein , the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties . fig . i depicts mean blood glucose values on the 8 - point profiles at day 1 ( baseline ) and day 12 ( endpoint ). fig . ii illustrates mean blood glucose responses before ( 0 . 25 hr ) and for 3 hours following the 15 minute stationary bicycle exercise period . 1 . stamler j , vaccaro o , norton j d , wentworth d . diabetes , other risk factors , and 12 - yr cardiovascular mortality for men screened in the multiple risk factor intervention trial . diabetes care 1993 ; 16 : 434 - 44 . 2 . stratton i m , adler a i , nell a w , matthews d r , manley s e , cull c a , et al . association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes ( ukpds 35 ): prospective observational study . bmj 2000 ; 321 : 405 - 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( department of medicine , university of southern california ( usc ) school of medicine 90033 , usa .) tripod ( troglitazone in the prevention of diabetes ): a randomized , placebo - controlled trial of troglitazone in women with prior gestational diabetes mellitus ; control clin trials . 1998 april ; 19 ( 2 ): 217 - 31 .