Novo Nordisk's Once-Weekly Insulin Icodec (Awiqli®) Approved in China for Treatment of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
Novo Nordisk
Insulin Developer and Manufacturer
On June 24, according to the NMPA official website, the insulin icodec injection submitted by Novo Nordisk (Product Name: Novo Nordisk/Awiqli) launched in China for the treatment of adult Type 2 diabetes.
Screenshot from: NMPA official website
Icodec insulin is a novel long-acting insulin analog that can reversibly bind to albumin, forming a reservoir in the circulatory system and releasing slowly and continuously. Within a one-week dosing interval, the glucose-lowering effect of Icodec insulin is evenly distributed, and at clinically relevant doses, its glucose-lowering duration can cover a full week.
In the newly released ONWARDS 5 study (NCT04760626), enrolling 1,085 adult patients with type 2 diabetes who had never used insulin. The study results showed that insulin degludec effectively reduced glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) significantly outperforms once-daily insulin analogs in terms of level (IncludingDegludecInsulin, GlargineInsulinU100 or GlargineInsulin U300). From baseline to Week 52, the change in HbA1c levels was greater in the insulin ecosyl group compared to the control group, and the pre-specified hierarchical test confirmed its non-inferiority (P < 0.001) and superiority (P = 0.009), estimated treatment difference (ETD) is -0.38 (95%CI, -0.66~-0.09）。
In the patient-reported outcomes, the Icodec insulin group showed treatment adherence (TRIM-D) and treatment satisfaction (DTSQ) was also significantly better than the control group, with ETDs of 3.04 (95% CI, 1.28~4.81) and 0.78 (95% CI, 0.10~1.47). In addition, the incidence of clinically significant or severe hypoglycemia was low and similar in both groups, indicating that the safety of insulin icodec is comparable to that of insulin analogs.
Screenshot source: Insight Database official website
The study results confirmed that, compared with insulin analogs, insulin icodec performed better in reducing HbA1c levels, improving treatment satisfaction and compliance, while the incidence of hypoglycemia was similarly low, offering patients a more effective and satisfactory treatment option.
