Efficacy and Safety of Sitagliptin in Hispanic/Latino Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Pooled Analysis from Ten Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 3 Clinical Trials.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the efficacy and safety profile of the dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitor sitagliptin in a population of self-identified Hispanic/Latino patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Data were pooled from ten randomized, double-blind studies in which subjects were treated with sitagliptin 100 mg/day (as mono- or combination therapy) or placebo, and used to evaluate the glycemic efficacy, safety, and tolerability of sitagliptin compared with placebo after 24 weeks of treatment.

RESULTS: A total of 804 Hispanic/Latino patients were included in the analysis. Baseline characteristics in the treatment groups were similar (mean baseline HbA1c of approximately 8.5%). The LS mean HbA1c changes from baseline were - 0.94% with sitagliptin and - 0.32% with placebo, and the between-group difference was - 0.62%, p < 0.001. After 24 weeks of treatment, 35% and 18% of subjects were at the HbA1c goal of < 7% in the sitagliptin and placebo groups, respectively. Body weight increased slightly in both treatment groups. Incidences of adverse events of hypoglycemia were similar and low (1.9% and 1.4% for sitagliptin and placebo, respectively) in both groups in studies in which insulin or sulfonylurea were not used and were similar (9% and 11% for sitagliptin and placebo, respectively) when all studies were included. Overall safety and tolerability of treatment with sitagliptin and placebo were similar. No clinically meaningful differences between the safety profile of sitagliptin in the Hispanic/Latino population analyzed here and broader populations previously evaluated were observed.

CONCLUSION: In this pooled analysis of sitagliptin therapy vs placebo in Hispanic/Latino patients, sitagliptin provided significant improvement in glycemic control and was generally well tolerated.

FUNDING: Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.