Pharmacokinetic drug evaluation of empagliflozin plus linagliptin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Development of eco-friendly spectrophotometric methods for analysis of metformin hydrochloride and linagliptin in presence of metformin toxic impurity in their pure and dosage forms: Validation, practicality and greenness studies

Metformin is considered as type 2 diabetes first line treatment according to American Diabetes Association and European Association. But, in some cases, di- or tri - therapy should be prescribed for glycemic management, prevention of the maximum dose side effects and induced effectiveness. Co-administration of Linagliptin with metformin has many benefits on diabetic patients such as decrease the possibility of hypoglycemia. For the first time, novel and reliable techniques were developed and verified for the concurrent quantification of metformin hydrochloride and linagliptin, while accounting for the existence of metformin toxic impurity 1-cyanoguanidine in their pure and dosage forms. Method (A) utilizes the zero-order spectrophotometric approach to quantitatively determine the concentration of linagliptin. The measurements are performed at a wavelength of 295 nm. The double divisor derivative ratio spectrophotometric method is used in Method (B) to measure the amounts of metformin and cyanoguanidine at 252 nm and 219 nm wavelengths, respectively. The spectrophotometric method (C) for determining metformin and cyanoguanidine at 252 nm and 223 nm, respectively, is based on the single divisor derivative ratio-zero crossing technique. The obtained findings were subjected to statistical comparison with the reported method, revealing no statistically significant differences. The Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) and Analytical GREEnness Metric approach (AGREE) determined that these approaches had a high degree of environmental friendliness. Additionally, the proposed strategy was deemed to be practical according to the Blue Applicability Grade Index (BAGI) assessment tool.

Metabolische Wirkungen und kardiovaskuläre Sicherheit einer oralen Dreifachtherapie des Typ-2-Diabetes: das Beispiel Metformin, Empagliflozin und Linagliptin

Basierend auf neuen Erkenntnissen und Leitlinien wird die orale Dreifachtherapie des Typ-2-Diabetes am Beispiel der Kombination aus Metformin, Empagliflozin und Linagliptin diskutiert. Der SGLT-2-Hemmstoff Empagliflozin verbessert im Vergleich zu Placebo den kombinierten Endpunkt aus kardiovaskulärem Tod oder nicht tödlichem Myokardinfarkt oder Schlaganfall (MACE-3) und reduziert die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Klinikaufnahme wegen Herzinsuffizienz sowie die Gesamtsterblichkeit. Eine neu auftretende oder sich verschlechternde Nephropathie wird ebenfalls seltener beobachtet. Der DPP-4-Hemmstoff Linagliptin senkt Blutzucker und HbA1c und hat keine Wirkungen auf den kardiovaskulären Endpunkt MACE-3, während die Progression der Albuminurie im Vergleich zu Placebo vermindert wird. Im Vergleich zum Sulfonylharnstoff Glimepirid sind die kardiovaskulären Wirkungen ähnlich, Hypoglykämien aber deutlich seltener. Die Kombination des insulinotropen Linagliptin mit dem insulinunabhängigen Glukose ausscheidenden Wirkprinzip von Empagliflozin verbessert im Vergleich zu Placebo bei mit Metformin unzureichend behandelten Patienten die metabolische Situation. Bei solchen Patienten ist die Fixkombination aus Empagliflozin und Linagliptin die erste, bei der Langzeitwirkungen der Einzelkomponenten in drei kardiovaskulären Endpunktstudien bestätigt wurden.

The safety of empagliflozin plus metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

INTRODUCTION

Metformin is the first-line glucose-lowering medication in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but it generally requires soon or later the addition of a second-line therapy, among which a sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor, to reach and maintain adequate glucose control. Areas covered: This narrative review provides an analysis of both efficacy and safety of a dual therapy combining metformin and empagliflozin, a SGLT-2 inhibitor that has proven its' potential to reduce major cardiovascular (CV) events, mortality, and renal outcomes in patients with T2DM and established CV disease. Pharmacokinetic studies showed the absence of drug-drug interactions and demonstrate bioequivalence between fixed-dose combination (FDC) and individual tablets of empagliflozin and metformin. Focus will be put on the use of this dual therapy in special populations. Expert opinion: The addition of empagliflozin to metformin therapy improves glucose control, with a minimal risk of hypoglycemia, while reducing body weight and arterial blood pressure. EMPA-REG OUTCOME showed that this combined therapy may be used in patients with established CV disease or heart failure. However, caution may be required in fragile elderly patients and in patients with severe impaired renal function. Further post-marketing surveillance is recommended to demonstrate long-term safety. FDC may improve adherence.

The role of dipeptidylpeptidase-4 inhibitors in management of cardiovascular disease in diabetes; focus on linagliptin

Multiple population based analyses have demonstrated a high incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in subjects with T2DM that reduces life expectancy by as much as 15 years. Importantly, the CV system is particularly sensitive to the metabolic and immune derangements present in obese pre-diabetic and diabetic individuals; consequently, CV dysfunction is often the initial CV derangement to occur and promotes the progression to end organ/tissue damage in T2DM. Specifically, diabetic CVD can manifest as microvascular complications, such as nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy, as well as, macrovascular impairments, including ischemic heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Despite some progress in prevention and treatment of CVD, mainly via blood pressure and dyslipidemia control strategies, the impact of metabolic disease on CV outcomes is still a major challenge and persists in proportion to the epidemics of obesity and diabetes. There is abundant pre-clinical and clinical evidence implicating the DPP-4-incretin axis in CVD. In this regard, linagliptin is a unique DPP-4 inhibitor with both CV and renal safety profiles. Moreover, it exerts beneficial CV effects beyond glycemic control and beyond class effects. Linagliptin is protective for both macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes in preclinical models, as well as clinical models. Given the role of endothelial-immune cell interactions as one of the key events in the initiation and progression of CVD, linagliptin modulates these cell–cell interactions by affecting two important pathways involving stimulation of NO signaling and potent inhibition of a key immunoregulatory molecule.