Once-daily metformin effective in type 2 diabetes

By Clementine Wallace

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – One daily dose of a new
extended-release formulation of metformin is as safe and
effective in treating type 2 diabetes as a conventional
twice-a-day dose of immediate-release metformin, researchers
report.

“With this extended-release formula, you can give the
patients up to 2000 mg a day,” co-author Dr. Bret Berner told
Reuters Health.

The new formulation, which goes by the brand name Glumetza,
seems to improve “patients’ tolerability for higher doses,”
said Berner, who is chief scientific officer and vice president
of product development at Menlo Park, California-based Depomed,
the maker of the product.

To determine the efficacy and safety of the medication, 700
type 2 diabetic patients were assigned to receive one of three
doses of extended-release metformin or immediate-release
metformin twice daily, over 24 weeks.

By the end of the 12th week, mean levels of HbA1c — a
blood test for long-term glucose control — had dropped
significantly in all groups, the researchers report in the
medical journal Diabetes Care.

At the end of week 24, the drops in two groups given 1500
milligrams daily (in single or divided doses) of
extended-release metformin were not significantly different
from the drop observed in the immediate-release metformin
group. On the other hand, HbA1c levels dropped significantly
more in the group given a single dose of 2000 milligrams of
extended-release metformin.

The overall incidence of adverse events was similar for all
treatment groups, said Berner, which indicates that a single
2000-milligram dose of extended-release metformin is well
tolerated by most patients.

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, April 2006.