Canadians living with diabetes in Ontario and Manitoba now have greater access to diabetes medicine

Source: Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN) (NYSE: SNY)

* Toujeo® receives provincial formulary coverage in Ontario
* Lantus® gains improved provincial formulary coverage in Manitoba

LAVAL, QC, Sept. 27, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Sanofi Canada is excited to announce great news for Canadians living with diabetes who are looking for new solutions to better manage their disease:

• The Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary has announced the addition of Toujeo® (insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection, 300 U/mL) to its list of reimbursed products as a general benefit with funding, effective September 27, 2018.
• The Government of Manitoba also announced that it will reimburse Lantus® ((insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection, 100 U/mL) without restriction under the Manitoba Drug Benefits and Interchangeability Formulary, effective October 18, 2018.

"We applaud the Ontario and Manitoba governments for providing greater access and choice to trusted and proven treatments," states Dr. Jan Hux, President and CEO of Diabetes Canada. "We encourage all provinces to ensure all people affected by diabetes may utilize the full range of evidence-based therapies."

About Toujeo
Toujeo® is indicated for once-daily subcutaneous administration in the treatment of adult patients (≥18 years) with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus who require basal (long-acting) insulin for glycemic control¹.

EDITION studies
Toujeo® was shown to be non-inferior to Lantus® at lowering blood sugar levels in three trials (EDITION I, II and III) where dosages were titrated to reach and maintain the fasting pre-breakfast self-monitoring of plasma glucose concentration (SMPG) targets of 4.4–5.6 mmol/L without hypoglycemia.

Toujeo® has a proven safety profile for patients transferring from or who are new to basal insulin and resulted in a numerical lower incidence of severe hypoglycemia at 6 and 12 months when compared to Lantus®. Furthermore, the duration of the blood sugar lowering effect of Toujeo® lasted up to 36 hours.

BRIGHT study
In the recent BRIGHT study, the first head-to-head randomized, controlled trial comparing Toujeo^® vs. iDegludec U100^®, it was shown that Toujeo^® was non-inferior to iDegludec U100^® at lowering blood sugar levels. The incidence and event rates of hypoglycemia over 24 weeks were comparable for both insulins. During the first 12 weeks of the study, a period when patients and physicians work to determine the most appropriate individual insulin dose, there was a lower rate of confirmed hypoglycemia for patients on Toujeo^® vs. iDegludec®².

Achieving optimal blood glucose control is fundamental to the management of diabetes.  Therapy in most individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes should be targeted to achieve an average three–month blood glucose level (A1C) ≤7.0%. Optimal blood glucose control reduces the risk of microvascular complications such as eye and kidney disease and, when managed well early in the course of the disease, may reduce macrovascular complications such as diseases of the heart (heart attack) and brain (stroke)³. 

References
¹TOUJEO® SoloSTAR® Product Monograph, sanofi-aventis Canada Inc., July 4, 2018.
² Rosenstock J, Cheng A, Ritzel R, Bosnyak Z, Devisme C, Cali A.M.G., Sieber J, Stella P, Wang X, Frías J.P.,  Roussel R, Bolli G.B.. More Similarities Than Differences Testing Insulin Glargine 300 Units/mL Versus Insulin Degludec 100 Units/mL in Insulin-Naive Type 2 Diabetes: The Randomized Head-to-Head BRIGHT Trial. Diabetes Care 2018 Oct; 41 (10): 2147-2154
³ Canadian Diabetes Association 2013 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada - Available at: http://www.diabetes.ca/clinical-practice-education/clinical-practice-guidelines#sthash.dWAQa4O4.dpuf

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SOURCE Sanofi Canada