Type 2 diabetes drug Galvus helps improve HbA1c levels in new study

The diabetes drug Galvus (vildagliptin) improves blood sugar levels when used alongside metformin in people with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes, a study reports.
Galvus is part of the DPP-4 inhibitor drug class, also known as gliptins, and is commonly used as a second or third line medication for people with type 2 diabetes who have already been prescribed metformin or sulphonylureas.
It is an oral drug that works by lowering blood glucose levels and can also help with weight loss.
In this new study conducted by scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel, vildagliptin was tested as an adjunct treatment on 345 adults with type 2 diabetes whose HbA1c levels were greater than 55.7 mmol/mol (7.25%).
All the participants had been treated with metformin treatment prior to the study. Over 180 days they then took vildagliptin alongside metformin with researchers monitoring the participants’ HbA1c levels and body weight.
HbA1c levels were shown to have decreased by 0.9%, on average, after this period, and more than half of the participants decreased their HbA1c by 0.7%.
Statistically significant reductions were also observed in body mass, with 38 per cent of participants losing at least 1kg in body weight.
“This analysis of real-world data corroborates the results of previous [randomized controlled trials] indicating that add-on therapy with vildagliptin in uncontrolled patients on metformin is associated with a significant reduction in HbA1c, with no indication of weight gain or increased non-HDL blood lipids,” said the researchers.
“Future studies on long-term outcomes among vildagliptin users and time to insulin injection initiation are important to examine the safety and effectiveness of the medication.”
The study findings have been published online in the Journal of Diabetes.