Improvement of glycaemic and lipid profiles with muraglitazar plus metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: an active-control trial with glimepiride

Abstract

The efficacy and safety of muraglitazar versus glimepiride were evaluated in patients with type 2 diabetes. After open-label metformin monotherapy, 1,805 patients received randomised therapy with muraglitazar 2.5 mg or 5 mg or with glimepiride 1 mg in a double-blind 52-week study. The primary end point was change in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C); secondary end points were changes in fasting lipid levels and glycaemic indices. At week 52, the reduction in HbA1C with muraglitazar 5 mg plus metformin was superior (p<0.0001) and with muraglitazar 2.5 mg it was non-inferior in comparison with glimepiride. At week 12, muraglitazar significantly decreased triglyceride levels (p<0.0001) and increased levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.0001). Oedema, weight gain and heart failure were more evident with muraglitazar. Muraglitazar 5 mg plus metformin significantly improved HbA1C, triglyceride and HDL-C levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Cardiovascular events were similar among groups (~2%), but there was an imbalance of total mortality in favour of glimepiride.