Efficacy and safety of triple therapy with dapagliflozin add-on to saxagliptin plus metformin over 52 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes

We previously reported that dapagliflozin versus placebo as add-on to saxagliptin plus metformin resulted in greater reductions in glycated haemoglobin (A1C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and body weight (BW) after 24 weeks of treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here we report results after 52 weeks of treatment. Patients stabilized on open-label metformin and saxagliptin 5 mg/day for 8-16 weeks were randomized to placebo or dapagliflozin 10 mg/day plus open-label saxagliptin plus metformin for 52 weeks. Changes from baseline to week 52 were greater with dapagliflozin versus placebo in A1C (-0.74% vs. 0.07%), FPG (-27 vs. 10 mg/dL) and BW (-2.1 vs. -0.4 kg). More patients achieved A1C <7% with dapagliflozin (29.4%) versus placebo (12.6%). Adverse events were similar with dapagliflozin (66%) and placebo (71%), and hypoglycaemia was rare (<= 2%). Genital infections occurred more often with dapagliflozin (6%) than with placebo (1%); frequency of urinary tract infections was similar between the two groups (9% vs. 10%). Triple therapy with dapagliflozin add-on to saxagliptin plus metformin is a durable, effective and well-tolerated intervention for the treatment of T2D.