Transition From Basal/Bolus to Once-weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide and Basal Insulin in Patients With Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus
Transition From Basal/Bolus to Once-weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide and Basal Insulin in Patients With Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus
This study is designed to determine whether therapy with once-weekly sc semaglutide in
 combination with once-daily insulin degludec will be capable of maintaining (or improving)
 glycemic control, when substituted for multiple daily injections of insulin (MDI), in
 patients with T2D with adequate glycemic control (≤ 7.5%) on MDI-based regimens (≤ 80 units
 of insulin per day), vs. further titration of insulin therapy in those continuing MDI. Weight
 loss, hypoglycemic episodes, and improvement in diabetes-treatment satisfaction will also be
 assessed between the two groups.
Patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) are often overweight or obese. In order to
 obtain adequate glycemic control, many of these patients require intensive therapy with
 multiple daily injections of insulin (referred to as MDI, basal/bolus regimen), using a
 rapid-acting/bolus insulin at each meal in combination with a once- or twice-daily long-
 acting/basal insulin. Unfortunately, intensive insulin therapy can result in undesired weight
 gain, which may, in part, result in further insulin resistance. In addition, weight gain may
 adversely affect the control of comorbid health conditions (hypertension, hyperlipidemia,
 congestive heart failure, sleep apnea, etc.). The burden of disease management with multiple
 daily injections of insulin also serves as a barrier to A1C goal attainment as maintaining
 compliance with such complex regimens is often challenging in the real-world setting.

 Once patients with T2D require multiple daily injections of insulin to obtain glycemic
 control, it is generally considered to be a permanent/life-long therapy. However, reports
 have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of adding once-daily glucagon-like peptide-1
 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) liraglutide to basal insulin therapy in order to obtain glycemic
 control (1, 2), and in clinical practice, the addition of liraglutide (or other FDA-approved
 GLP-1RAs) to basal insulin often negates or delays the need to initiate prandial insulin.
 Subsequently, a newer form of anti-diabetic therapy, a once-daily injectable combination of
 GLP-1RA and basal insulin, became available and demonstrated promise that perhaps glycemic
 control may even be obtained with less complex regimens (i.e., less daily injections). There
 are currently two GLP-1RA/basal insulin combination therapies that are FDA approved:
 iGlarLixi (Soliqua®), and iDegLira (Xultophy®) (3, 4). While these observations with
 iGlarLixi and iDegLira demonstrating an improvement in A1C while avoiding prandial insulin
 injections are very exciting, what remains unclear is if patients with reasonable glycemic
 control (A1C ≤ 7.5%) currently receiving MDI (basal/bolus, 3-4 injections per day) could
 potentially maintain or even improve glycemic control by switching to a once-daily injectable
 product like Xultophy® or Soliqua®. Currently, there are no studies available (or planned)
 that have answered this clinical question. One limitation of these combination products in
 the clinical setting is the inability to independently titrate the GLP-1RA and basal insulin
 components. If a patient begins to experience hypoglycemia, and/or their fasting BG values
 are currently within the goal range, the dose of these combination products cannot be further
 titrated, limiting one's ability to further improve glycemic control in patients with a
 residual A1C elevation.

 What also remains unclear is if some of the newer formulations of GLP-1RA may also be able to
 reduce the burden of disease management and maintain glycemic control in patients who are
 currently well-controlled on a regimen of MDI. Recently, subcutaneous (sc) once-weekly
 semaglutide has been demonstrated to be capable of improving glycemic control in patients
 with T2D in combination with insulin therapy. In SUSTAIN-5 (5), at week 30, subcutaneous
 semaglutide 0.5 and 1.0 mg was demonstrated to reduce A1C by 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively, vs
 0.1% with placebo [mean baseline A1C value, 8.4%] in a population of T2D patients receiving
 stable therapy with basal insulin with or without metformin. Moreover, mean body weight (kg)
 decreased with semaglutide 0.5 and 1.0 mg vs placebo from baseline to end of treatment: 3.7,
 6.4, and 1.4 kg, respectively. Premature treatment discontinuation due to adverse events was
 higher for semaglutide 0.5 and 1.0 mg vs placebo (4.5%, 6.1%, and 0.8%), mainly due to
 gastrointestinal disorders. Even if the transition from MDI to once-daily sc semaglutide in
 combination with basal insulin were successful in only a minority of patients, the clinical
 advantage and reduction in burden of disease management that would be associated with
 transitioning from 3-4 injections of insulin per day to a regimen of once- weekly sc
 semaglutide and a once-daily injection of basal insulin would be a rather dramatic and
 remarkable transformation for patients, and one that would likely improve patients' diabetes
 treatment satisfaction. It would also help to solidify the effectiveness and safety of
 semaglutide in yet another population of patients with T2D. What cannot be minimized is the
 tremendous impact that a successful transition to once-weekly semaglutide and once-daily
 basal insulin could have on patients in terms of reducing their insulin requirements,
 assisting with weight loss (or mitigating further weight gain), and reducing the frequency
 and burden of hypoglycemia. In my clinical experience, once patients are titrated to full
 dose GLP-1RA therapy and attain adequate glycemic control, insulin doses (particularly
 prandial insulin) can often be further reduced or eliminated without negatively impacting
 glycemic control. Continuing the insulin therapy at higher doses in these patients simply
 suppresses the glucose-dependent secretion of endogenous insulin being promoted by the
 GLP-1RA therapy. Often, only an abrupt cessation of prandial insulin, or a step-wise
 down-titration of insulin therapy in these patients, will reveal that insulin therapy is no
 longer required at higher doses to maintain glycemic control. When this does successfully
 occur, the impact on patients is transformational.

 The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of once-weekly sc semaglutide (in
 combination with once-daily basal insulin) to maintain or improve glycemic control in
 patients currently receiving MDI, while providing the patients with a significant reduction
 in the burden of disease management. In addition, this approach may also furnish a positive
 effect on weight management, a reduction in hypoglycemic episodes, and improvement in
 diabetes treatment satisfaction, when substituted for basal/bolus therapy in patients with
 T2D who currently have adequate glycemic control (A1C ≤ 7.5%) with a regimen of MDI
 (requiring a total of ≤ 80 units of insulin per day). The A1C cut-point of ≤ 7.5% was chosen
 because many patients on complex treatment regimens (MDI) with reasonable control, i.e.,
 7-7.5%, would be expected to have a realistic chance of success by switching from MDI to sc
 semaglutide and basal insulin combination therapy. Also, many patients taking complex insulin
 regimens (MDI) fall in the close to A1C goal range of 7-7.5%, so using this cut-point, vs. <
 7%, would make recruitment easier. Lastly, patients receiving MDI who are older and/or with
 heart disease also have higher individual A1C goal/targets around 7.5%. This study will also
 assess the impact that a successful substitution may have on the patients' diabetes treatment
 satisfaction, an important, yet under-appreciated aspect of diabetes management.
Inclusion Criteria:

 1. Gender: men and women

 2. Ethnicity: all ethnic groups

 3. Language: English

 4. Age: ≥ 18 to 75 years

 5. Type II diabetes

 -  Currently treated with MDI (basal/bolus regimen) for at least 6 months

 -  MDI must consist of three or more injections of insulin per day, with at least 2
 injections being prandial/rapid-acting insulin

 -  Prandial insulin restricted to insulin aspart, glulisine, and lispro

 -  Basal insulin restricted to long acting once-daily analogues (insulin glargine U-
 100, insulin degludec (U-100 or U-200), or insulin glargine U-300)

 -  A1C within 30 days of randomization must be ≤ 7.5% on the present therapy

 -  Less than or equal to 80 units of total insulin therapy per day

 6. Ability to provide informed consent before any trial-related activities. Trial-related
 activities are any procedure that would not have been performed during normal
 management of the subject.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 1. GAD-65 antibody positive

 2. Glomerular Filtration Rate <30 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (calculated by the Chronic Kidney
 Disease Epidemiology Collaboration Equation, CKD-EPI)

 3. Current glucocorticoid therapy

 4. Known or suspected allergy to trial medication(s), excipients, or related products,
 i.e., GLP-1RA therapy or insulin aspart or insulin degludec.

 5. The receipt of any investigational drug within 90 days prior to this trial.

 6. Previous participation in this trial (Randomized)

 7. Mental incapacity or language barrier (non-English speaking)

 8. Use of incretin-based therapies <3 months before inclusion in the study

 -  DPP-4 inhibitors sitagliptin, saxagliptin, linagliptin, alogliptin

 -  GLP-1RA (exenatide, liraglutide, exenatide LAR, dulaglutide, albiglutide,
 lixisenatide, semaglutide)

 -  GLP-1RA/Basal Insulin combination (IGlarLixi, IDegLira)

 9. Present use of oral anti-diabetic agents other than metformin. The dose of metformin
 must be unchanged and stable for the immediate 3 months prior to baseline.

 10. Pregnant, breast-feeding or the intention of becoming pregnant or not using adequate
 contraceptive measures

 11. Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma

 12. Personal or family history of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2

 13. History of acute or chronic pancreatitis, severe liver disease or LFT's > 2.5X ULN, or
 severe disease of digestive tract

 14. History of bariatric surgery/procedure (gastric banding, gastric sleeve, or Roux-en-Y)

 15. Known elevation of serum calcitonin > 50 ng/L