Steady State is Reached within Two to Three Days of Once-daily Administration of Ultra-Long-acting Insulin Degludec

Abstract

(IDeg), a new ultra-long-acting basal insulin, as a function of administration region. Twenty healthy subjects (17 males/3 females; mean age: 37 years, body mass index: 24.1 kg/m2) received single subcutaneous (s.c.) doses of IDeg (0.4 U/kg) in the thigh, the deltoid and the abdomen. Blood samples for pharmacokinetic assessment were taken up to 120 hours after injection, and the pharmacodynamic response was evaluatedduring a24-hour euglycaemic glucose clamp (Biostator; target blood glucose: 4.5 mmol/L). As observed with other insulin preparations, total exposure of IDeg (AUCIDeg,0e120h,SD) (area under the curve) was slightly greater (by 6e7%) after s.c. injection in the deltoid or the abdomen compared to the thigh. There was no difference between the deltoid and abdomen (Table 1). The glucose infusion rate (GIR) profiles were similar for the 3 s.c. injection regions: mean AUCGIR,0e24h,SD (coefficient of variation %) was 2572 (38), 2960 (43) and 2833 (42) mg/kg for thigh, deltoid and abdomen, respectively; mean GIRmax,SD was 2.7 (32), 3.0 (42) and 3.0 (37) mg/kg/min, respectively. The glucose-lowering effect extended beyond 24 hours in all subjects for all 3 s.c. injection regions. In conclusion, IDeg can be administered s.c. in the thigh, the deltoid or the abdomen with similar glucose-lowering effect from a clinical perspective.