Study finds higher rate of switching from Byetta to Victoza in treatment of type 2 diabetes

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that although Amylin/Eli Lilly's Byetta currently commands a higher patient share than Novo Nordisk's Victoza, more patients were switched from Byetta to Victoza than vice versa (25.2 percent versus 2.8 percent) in the last quarter of 2010 among recently treated type 2 diabetes patients. According to Treatment Algorithms in Type 2 Diabetes, the higher rate of switching from Byetta to Victoza suggests that Victoza use in the United States is increasing at the expense of Byetta.

“The increasing use of Victoza is most likely a result of Victoza's more convenient once-daily dosing and its greater HbA1c-lowering and weight-loss efficacy.”

The analysis finds that in the first quarter of 2010, Byetta patient share in recently treated patients was 4 percent and this share decreased slightly to 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, patient share for Victoza was 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and grew to 1.8 percent in the last quarter of 2010.

"Use of both Byetta and Victoza is usually reserved for later lines of therapy," said Decision Resources Analyst Kate Sullivan. "The increasing use of Victoza is most likely a result of Victoza's more convenient once-daily dosing and its greater HbA1c-lowering and weight-loss efficacy."

Enhanced Service and Platform Now Available

The analysis is part of Decision Resources' enhanced Treatment Algorithms series, which features a new online platform. Interactive, user-friendly and with more graphical data views, the new platform enables users to easily toggle between diseases and time cohorts, which ultimately allows for more in-depth analysis on each line of therapy. Treatment Algorithms analysis is now updated quarterly to provide ongoing trending of product utilization by line of therapy and new therapy initiations. Through examination of U.S. patient-level claims data, Decision Resources' Treatment Algorithms series provides exceptional insight into physicians' prescribing trends and the factors that drive therapy choice, from diagnosis through multiple courses of treatment, for a specific disease.