Novo Nordisk, the world's biggest maker of insulin, said on Dec. 5 that a new study showed its long-acting insulin Levemir reduces body weight and improves blood glucose levels when taken once daily by people with type 2 diabetes.

The new data, a sub-analysis from a large, multinational study called PREDICTIVE, is significant because many people with type 2 diabetes gain weight when they start on conventional types of insulin therapy, which can further decrease the body's sensitivity to the insulin.

“Many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese to begin with, and starting insulin therapy often leads to even more weight gain,” said Dr. Anne Dornhorst of Imperial College, London, the lead researcher.

“Our findings showed that not only did Levemir once daily improve glycaemia control, but unlike many other forms of insulin, it actually led to weight loss and this benefit was even greater for the heaviest patients," Dornhorst added.

The new data presented at the World Diabetes Congress were from a 14-week analysis of a European subgroup of 2,377 individuals with type 2 diabetes who were being treated with oral diabetic drugs and who had not previously used insulin therapy.

The results showed that after 14 weeks, the individuals taking Levemir lost 1.5 pounds of body weight, with the weight loss more pronounced in those who entered the trial at higher weight.

Levemir also improved glycaemic control over the 14 weeks, with the average level of HbA1c, an indicator of long-term glycaemic control, decreasing from 8.9% to 7.6%.