Long-Acting Agents and Fixed-Dose Combinations for Type 2 Diabetes: U.S. Physician and Payer Opinion on the Benefits of Next-Generation Antidiabetic Therapies | Physician & Payer Forum | US | 2014
Type 2 diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder characterized by a declining ability to produce or utilize insulin. The chronic and progressive nature of the disease, as well as its complications and common comorbidities, often lead to patients requiring multiple medications. The type 2 diabetes market represents a crowded treatment landscape, but recent advances in efficacy and safety benefits over current therapies have been limited, which also contributes to polypharmacy. Increasing pill burden is linked to reduced treatment compliance and consequently worse outcomes. As a result, drug developers are increasingly focusing on novel therapies that offer greater ease of use and reduction in medication burden in a bid to achieve greater treatment compliance. Over the next few years, new long-acting dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, alongside several fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) comprising a range of drug classes, including sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and insulins, are expected to launch. As these new agents compete for positioning and uptake, physicians and MCOs must consider how best to incorporate them into their respective treatment and reimbursement strategies as they seek to optimize value for money.