Treatment satisfaction, safety, and effectiveness of biosimilar insulin glargine is comparable in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after switching from insulin glargine or insulin degludec: a post-marketing safety study.

Objective: To evaluate insulin treatment satisfaction, safety, and effectiveness of biosimilar insulin glargine (GLY) in real-world clinical practice for Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who switched from originator insulin glargine (100 U/mL) or insulin degludec treatment to GLY treatment.

Methods: The Insulin Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (ITSQ) was used to assess treatment satisfaction in a subgroup analysis of a post-marketing safety study. Hypoglycemia incidence rates and blood glucose control are also reported during the 12-month observation period for GLY-switched patients.

Results: Of 1104 patients with T2DM enrolled to participate, 565 patients switched from either insulin glargine U100/mL ( = 470) or insulin degludec ( = 95) to GLY. The mean total change from baseline to 3 months for total ITSQ score was 1.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] - 0.13 to 2.83,  = .073) for patients who switched from insulin glargine and 2.63 (95% CI -1.43 to 6.70,  = .195) for patients who switched from insulin degludec to GLY treatment. The mean change from baseline to 12 months in hypoglycemia events reported per month was -0.04% (95% CI -0.12 to 0.03,  = .236) for patients who switched from insulin glargine and no change for patients who switched from insulin degludec (0.00, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.20,  = 1.000). Non-significant mean changes from baseline to 12 months were observed for hemoglobin A1c and fasting plasma glucose in GLY-switched patients.

Conclusions: Treatment satisfaction does not change significantly in Japanese patients with T2DM who switch to GLY from the reference product or from insulin degludec. Safety and effectiveness over a 12-month period were similar in GLY-treated patients who switched from either insulin glargine or insulin degludec.

Clinicaltrials.gov: Not applicable.