Comparison of the Effectiveness and Safety of Vildagliptin Add-On to Metformin Versus Other Oral Dual Antidiabetes Agents in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: The China Prospective Diabetes Study

Introduction The efficacy and safety of vildagliptin alone or with metformin is well established by randomized trials, but it is unknown whether it can be extrapolated to the real-world setting in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of vildagliptin add-on to metformin versus dual oral antidiabetes drug (OAD), non-vildagliptin combination therapies in real-world Chinese patients with T2DM. Methods The China Prospective Diabetes Study was a post-marketing, prospective, multicenter, observational, real-world study conducted in 52 centers. Patients inadequately controlled with OAD monotherapy and who initiated vildagliptin add-on to metformin (VM cohort) or two OADs other than vildagliptin (comparator cohort) were included for the present analysis. The composite primary endpoint was glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 7% and without tolerability events (hypoglycemia, weight gain ≥ 3%, or discontinuation due to gastrointestinal events) at 12 months. Secondary endpoints included change in HbA1c from baseline, subgroup analysis, and tolerability. Propensity score matching analysis was performed to adjust for baseline covariates imbalance (body mass index (BMI) and HbA1c). Results A total of 604 patients received VM and 670 received comparator therapy. Patients who received VM were younger, more obese, and had a higher baseline HbA1c and a shorter duration of T2DM. After propensity score matching, there were 530 patients per cohort. After 12-month treatment, the success rates of the composite primary endpoint were 50.9% and 33.0% in the VM and comparator cohorts, respectively ( P < 0.001; odds ratio = 2.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64–2.70). Furthermore, the success rates of the composite endpoint were higher with VM across geographic area, BMI, and baseline HbA1c subgroups. Fewer tolerability events occurred in the VM cohort versus the comparator cohort (8.3% vs. 16.2%, P < 0.001; relative risk = 0.51, 95% CI 0.36–0.72). Conclusion Compared with dual OAD non-vildagliptin combination therapies, vildagliptin add-on to metformin is effective and safe to achieve glycemic control in Chinese patients with T2DM. Funding Novartis.