Adding biphasic insulin aspart 30 once or twice daily is more efficacious than optimizing oral antidiabetic treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp30; NovoMix® 30) to existing oral antidiabetic agents (OADs) vs. optimizing OADs in a subgroup of Western Pacific patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on oral monotherapy or oral combination therapy. Methods: This 26-week, multi-centre, open-labelled, randomized, two-arm parallel trial consisted of a 2-week screening period, followed by 24 weeks of treatment. Subjects randomized to BIAsp30 treatment (n = 129) received BIAsp30 once daily (o.d.) at dinnertime between Week 2 and Week 14, and those not reaching treatment targets were switched to twice daily (b.i.d.) BIAsp30 at Week 14 (n = 50). Subjects randomized to the OAD-only arm (n = 63) continued with their previous OAD treatment and, in an attempt to reach treatment goals, the dose was optimized (but OAD unchanged) in accordance to local treatment practice and labelling. Results: Significantly greater reductions in HbA 1c over Weeks 0-13 with BIAsp30 (o.d.) vs. OAD-only treatment (1.16 vs. 0.58%; < 0.001), and over Weeks 0-26, with BIAsp30 (o.d.) and BIAsp30 (b.i.d.) treatments vs. OAD-only treatment (1.24 vs. 1.34 vs. 0.67%; p < 0.01). Hypoglycaemic episodes were reported in 54% of the patients in BIAsp30 (o.d. and b.i.d. pooled) and 30% of the patients in OAD-only group. All episodes were minor or symptomatic, except for one in each treatment group, which was major. Conclusions: Initiating BIAsp30 treatment is a safe and more effective way to improve glycaemic control in Western Pacific patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with oral monotherapy or oral combination therapy compared with optimizing oral combination therapy alone. In patients not reaching treatment target on BIAsp30 (o.d.), treatment with BIAsp30 (b.i.d.) should be considered.