Safety and tolerability of linagliptin in Asians with type 2 diabetes: a pooled analysis of 4457 patients from 21 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials

Background Safety and tolerability of glucose-lowering drugs is a key consideration for use in type 2 diabetes (T2D). We evaluated the safety and tolerability of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor linagliptin in Asian patients with T2D. Research design and methods This was a post-hoc, descriptive pooled analysis of 21 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of linagliptin in T2D patients lasting <= 52 weeks. We evaluated adverse events (AEs) and laboratory parameters in Asian participants living in Asia, both overall and in the East Asian subgroup. Results This analysis included 4457 Asian patients overall (2712 receiving linagliptin; 1745 receiving placebo) and 3057 (68.6%) East Asians. AEs were reported in 1510 (55.7%) Asian patients receiving linagliptin and 1032 (59.1%) receiving placebo but were considered drug-related in only 13.0% of each group. Serious AEs occurred in 109 (4.0%) linagliptin patients and 90 (5.2%) placebo patients. The most common AEs were nasopharyngitis (6.4% linagliptin, 7.3% placebo), upper respiratory tract infection (5.7% linagliptin, 6.5% placebo), and hypoglycemia (7.3% linagliptin, 6.3% placebo). One linagliptin patient had pancreatitis; none had bullous pemphigoid. No clinically relevant mean changes in laboratory parameters occurred. These findings were consistent in East Asians. Conclusions Linagliptin is well tolerated in Asian T2D patients, including East Asians, with low risk for AEs.