Insulin glulisine (Apidra) for type 1 diabetes mellitus in adolescents and children December 2008 This technology summary is based on information available at the time of research and a limited literature search. It is not intended to be a definitive statement on the safety, efficacy or effectiveness of the health technology covered and should not be used for commercial purposes. The Research Programme is part of the National Institute for Health Research
Insulin glulisine (Apidra) for type 1 diabetes mellitus in adolescents and children Target group Type 1 diabetes mellitus: adolescents and children 6 years or older - where treatment with insulin is required. Technology description Insulin glulisine (Apidra, HMR-1964) is a recombinant human insulin analogue that is equipotent to regular human insulin, its primary activity being regulation of glucose metabolism. It has a more rapid onset and a shorter duration of action than regular human insulin. Insulin glulisine is administered subcutaneously shortly before (0-15 minutes) or soon after meals. It should be used in regimens that include an intermediate or long acting insulin or basal insulin analogue, and can be used with oral hypoglycaemic agents. Insulin glulisine is intended to be an alternative to other rapid-acting insulins such as insulin aspart (NovoRapid, Novo Nordisk) and insulin lispro (HumaLog, Eli Lilly). Insulin glulisine was launched in the UK for adults with type 1 diabetes in September 2006. Innovation and/or advantages In a clinical trial insulin glulisine enabled a greater proportion of patients to reach American Diabetes Association (ADA) age-specific HbA 1c targets than insulin lispro. Its very rapid onset may be a particular advantage in young children where it is difficult to gauge how much they will eat, and in those with learning difficulties. An insulin that can be given immediately before a meal also has advantages for children and adolescents who do not want to wait before they can eat after an injection. Insulin glulisine has a shorter duration of action (1-2.5 hours) compared to insulin lispro and insulin aspart (both 3-5 hours). Developer Sanofi-aventis. Availability, launch or marketing dates, and licensing plans: In June 2008, the European marketing authorisation for insulin glulisine was extended to include adolescents and children aged 6 years or older. NHS or Government priority area: This topic is relevant to: The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (2004). The National Service Framework for Diabetes (2007). Five Years On, Delivering the Diabetes National Service Framework (2008). Relevant guidance NICE Technology Appraisals Continuous subcutaneous insulin for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. 2008 1. Inhaled insulin for the treatment of diabetes (types 1 and 2). 2006 (withdrawn from market) 2. Guidance on the use of patient education models for diabetes. 2003 3. 2
Guidance on the use of long-acting insulin analogues for the treatment of diabetes insulin glargine. 2002 4. Other NICE Guidance. NICE clinical guideline. Diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children, young people and adults. 2004 5. NICE intervention procedure guidance. Allogeneic pancreatic islet cell transplantation for type 1 diabetes mellitus. 2008 6. National Collaborating Centre for Women s and Children s Health. Type 1 diabetes: diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children and young people. 2004 7. Clinical Standards Board for Scotland. Diabetes second edition. 2002 8. SIGN. Management of diabetes. 2001 9. British National Formulary. Diabetic ketoacidosis. 2008 10. Royal College of Nursing. Paediatric diabetes: RCN guidance for newly appointed nurse specialists. Service guidance. 2004 11. Clinical need and burden of disease Type 1 diabetes is one of the most frequent chronic diseases in childhood 7. In 2002, there were 16,950 children with diabetes in England (1.62 per 1,000) and 1,121 in Wales (1.8 per 1,000), around 97% of these having type 1 diabetes 12. The incidence rate in 2002 was 14.9 per 100,000 of under 17-year olds, although this figure is believed to be low. Type 1 diabetes is a continuing hormonal deficiency disorder that has significant short-term impacts on health and lifestyle and is associated with major long-term complications and reduced life expectancy. Children with diabetes receive the majority of their care in specialist paediatric units. Existing comparators and treatments The main aim of treatment of type 1 diabetes is to obtain normal to near-normal blood glucose control. Children with type 1 diabetes require insulin replacement therapy from diagnosis. The choice of insulin regimen depends on factors such as age, duration of diabetes, lifestyle, targets of metabolic control, and individual patient/family preferences. NICE guidance states that while the insulin regimen should be individualised for each patient, three basic types of insulin regimen can be considered 5 : One, two or three insulin injections per day of short-acting insulin or rapid-acting insulin analogue mixed with intermediate-acting insulin. Multiple daily injection regimens: injections of short-acting insulin or rapid-acting insulin analogue before meals, together with one or more separate daily injections of intermediate-acting insulin or long-acting insulin analogue. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (insulin pump therapy). Efficacy and safety Trial NCT00115570: insulin glulisine vs insulin lispro; phase III. Insulin glulisine vs regular human insulin (RHI); phase II. Sponsor Sanofi-aventis. Aventis Pharma. Status Abstract 13. Published 14. Location EU, USA, Argentina, Australia and Germany. South Africa. Design Open-label, stratified, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority. Randomised, single-dose, double-blind, two-way cross-over. 3
Participants and schedule n=572; children & adolescents (4-17 yrs); type 1 diabetes; HbA 1c 6-11%. Randomised to insulin glulisine (GLU) or insulin lispro (LIS), 0-15 minutes before mealtimes with either glargine or neutral protamine Hagedorn as basal insulin for 26-weeks. Stratified according to type of basal insulin used. n=20; children (5-11 yrs) & adolescents (12-17 yrs); type 1 diabetes. Randomised to subcutaneous injections of 0.15IU/kg GLU or RHI 2 minutes before a standardised meal. Study days were separated by at least 3 and no more than 14 days. Follow-up - 6 hours. Primary outcomes Change in HbA 1c from baseline to endpoint. Pharmacokinetics, postprandial glucose excursions and safety. Secondary outcome - Key results Adverse effects Change in HbA 1c at weeks 12 and 26, patients reaching pre-specified HbA 1c categories; self-monitored blood glucose parameters (BG); insulin doses; symptomatic hypoglycemia (all, severe, nocturnal and severe nocturnal episodes). GLU vs LIS baseline to endpoint HbA 1c adjusted mean changes were similar (GLU LIS: 0.06, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.12). Significantly more pts (p=0.0386) achieved ADA age-specific HbA 1c targets with GLU (38.4%) vs LIS (32.0%). This difference was most pronounced in 13 17-yr olds, with 31.1 vs 21.1% of GLU vs LIS pts achieving HbA 1c target <7.5% (p=0.0251). Mean BG values were similar for before main meal and 2-hour post-main meal time points. From baseline, both groups showed an increase in daily total insulin dose (+2.53 ± 0.68U/day GLU vs +4.91 ± 0.95U/day LIS; p=0.0074) and daily total insulin dose/kg body weight (+0.01 ± 0.01U/kg GLU vs +0.05 ± 0.01U/kg LIS; p=0.0045). From month 4 to endpoint, symptomatic hypoglycaemia rates were similar. Maximum insulin concentrations (58 vs 33µIU/ml, p<0.05) and initial insulin concentrations (insulin [area under the curve] AUC 0-2h 5,232 vs. 2994µIU min - 1 ml -1, p<0.05) were higher after GLU than RHI. Both time to maximum insulin concentration (54 vs 66 min) and mean residence times (88 vs 137 min, p<0.05) were shorter with GLU. Post prandial glucose excursions after GLU were lower than after RHI (p<0.05). The pharmacokinetic profile for GLU was similar for children and adolescents, RHI demonstrated a 64% higher concentration in adolescents. 19 mild adverse events in 9 patients, of which one (urticaria) was reported to be possibly related to study medication (RHI). Estimated cost and cost impact The cost for a pack of 5 x 3-mL prefilled insulin glulisine disposable injection devices is either 25 (Apidra SoloStar ) or 29.45 (Apidra Optiset ). The cost of 5 x 3-mL cartridges is 29.45 (for OptiPen Pro 1 and Autopen 24) and 31.50 (OptiClik cartridge) 15. The cost of other rapid-acting, recombinant human insulin analogues is 15 : Recombinant human insulin Device/cartridge Amount Cost analogue Insulin lispro Autopen Classic cartridge 5 x 3-mL 29.46 HumaPen cartridge 5 x 3-mL 29.46 4
Humalog -Pen 5 x 3-mL 29.46 Insulin aspart Penfill cartridge 5 x 3-mL 29.43 FlexPen 5 x 3-mL 32.00 Potential or intended impact speculative Patients Reduced morbidity Quicker, earlier or more accurate diagnosis or identification of disease Reduced mortality or increased length of survival Other: It is unclear at present whether there are additional longterm benefits from insulin glulisine. Improved quality of life for patients and/or carers None identified Services Increased use Service reorganisation required Staff or training required Decreased use Other: None identified Costs Increased unit cost compared to alternative Increased costs: more patients coming for treatment Increased costs: capital investment needed New costs: Savings: Other: Any possible savings relating to the slightly better glucose control (secondary outcome) will be long-term References 1 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Review of technology appraisal guidance 57. Technology appraisal TA151, London: NICE; July 2008. 2 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Inhaled insulin for the treatment of diabetes (types 1 and 2). Technology appraisal TA113. London: NICE; December 2006. 3 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Guidance on the use of patient education models for diabetes. Technology appraisal TA60. London: NICE; April 2003. 4 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Guidance on the use of long-acting insulin analogues for the treatment of diabetes insulin glargine. Technology Appraisal TA53, London: NICE; December 2002. 5 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children, young people and adults. Clinical guideline CG15. London: NICE; July 2004. 6 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Allogeneic pancreatic islet cell transplantation for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Interventional procedure guidance IPG257. London: NICE; April 2008. 7 National Collaborating Centre for Women s and Children s Health. Type 1 diabetes: diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children and young people. London: RCOG Press. September 2004. 8 Clinical Standards Board for Scotland. Diabetes second edition. October 2002. 9 Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). Management of diabetes. November 2001. 10 British National Formulary. Diabetic ketoacidosis. Care guideline. September 2008. 11 Royal College of Nursing. Paediatric diabetes: RCN guidance for newly appointed nurse specialists. Service guidance. November 2004. 12 Diabetes UK. The National Paediatric Diabetes Audit: results from the audit year 2002. http://www.bsped.org.uk/professional/diabetesuk/nationalpaediatricaudit.pdf. 13 Philotheou A, Arslanian S, Blatniczky L et al, Efficacy and safety of insulin glulisine (GLU) vs insulin lispro (LIS) as part of a basal-bolus insulin (INS) regimen in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), Abstr 1791-P. American Diabetes Association 66 th Scientific sessions, San Francisco, June 6-10, 2008. 14 Danne T, Becker RHA, Heise T et al. Pharmacokinetics, prandial glucose control, and safety of insulin glulisine in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2005; 28(9): 2100-5. 15 British Medical Association and Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. British National Formulary, BMJ Group and RPS Publishing. London; September 2008. 5
The National Institute for Health Research Research Programme is funded by the Department of Health. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health The, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, England Tel: +44 (0)121 414 7831 Fax +44 (0)121 414 2269 www.pcpoh.bham.ac.uk/publichealth/horizon 6