1.Safety and effectiveness of a biosimilar biphasic insulin in the management of diabetes mellitus during routine clinical practice in Asian patients
Zanariah Hussein ; Nor Azizah Aziz ; Dhanaraj E ; Ballari Brahmachari ; Mudgal Kothekar
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(4):372-378
Introduction: Biosimilar insulins have the potential to increase
access to treatment among patients with diabetes mellitus
(DM), reduce treatment costs, and expand market competition.
There are no published studies evaluating the performance of
biosimilar insulins in routine clinical practice in Asia. This
study assessed the safety and effectiveness of biphasic isophane
insulin injection in Malaysian DM patients.
Materials and Methods: In this open label, single-arm,
observational, post marketing study, patients received biphasic
isophane insulin injection as per the Prescribing Information;
and were assessed for safety (adverse events including
hypoglycaemia), effectiveness (glycosylated haemoglobin
[HbA1c]; fasting blood sugar, [FBS]; and patient’s condition
by patient and physician) over a period of 24 weeks.
Results: Adult male and female diabetes patients (N=119; type
2 DM, n=117) with a mean (SD) diabetes duration of 13 years
were included. No new safety signals have been identified.
Significant reduction in HbA1c was observed at weeks 12 and
24 (mean [SD] - baseline: 9.6% [1.9]; Week 12: 9.0% [1.7] and
at Week 24: 9.1% [1.7]; p < 0.001). There were 10 serious and 9
non-serious adverse events reported in the study. Expected
mild events included hypoglycaemia and injection site pruritus.
However, the majority of the adverse events were non-study
drug related events. No deaths were reported during the study.
Discussion: Biphasic isophane insulin injection was well
tolerated with no new safety concerns. It was found effective in
post- marketing studies conducted in routine clinical settings
when administered in DM patients in this study.