Valeritas (NSDQ:VLRX) shares jumped this morning after the company touted positive results from its Enable study, showing that patients who switched from insulin pens and syringes to the company’s wearable V-Go insulin delivery device experienced improved blood glucose levels and lowered their daily insulin dose.
The company presented three posters at this year’s meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Orlando, Florida.
“The largest study of V-Go patients to date has demonstrated that regardless of baseline insulin dose or duration of diabetes, patients who switched to V-Go significantly lowered their blood glucose. We believe that is significant for diabetes patients, their medical professionals, payors, and Valeritas,” CEO John Timberlake said in prepared remarks.
Valeritas’ 283-patient retrospective study found that patients with Type II diabetes who switched from insulin pens and syringes to the V-Go product had statistically significant reductions in A1c by more than 1% and total daily dose of insulin at three and seven months. The company also noted that the percent of patients at high risk (with an A1c of > 9%) was reduced by 50% after switching to the V-Go device.
“We categorize patients with an A1C above 9.0% as high risk since they are more likely to have long-term complications that impact health care costs. The significant reduction in A1C and the achievement in A1C goals after switching to V-Go in the Enable study has important implications for treating diabetes. By improving glycemic control, our hope is to reduce rates of complications as well as decrease health care cost, which is a priority for all healthcare systems,” lead author and endocrinologist Dr. Ripu Hundal said.
One analysis of 186 patients from the Enable study specifically focused on patients who were poorly controlled with conventional basal-bolus therapy delivered by multiple daily injections.
The analysis found that lowered A1c levels were sustained until seven months and that patients were able to reduce their total insulin daily dose by 30% after switching to V-Go.
Researchers also studied if how long a patient has been diagnosed with diabetes had an impact in reference to switching from insulin pens and syringes to the V-Go device.
“Findings from the Enable study demonstrated that no matter how long a patient had been diagnosed with diabetes, switching to V-Go from insulin delivery via insulin pens and syringes resulted in significantly lower A1C levels,” lead author Dr. Jane Cases said. “We believe this positive data demonstrates that diabetes duration should not be a factor when determining which patient can benefit from using V-Go.”
VLRX shares were trading at $1.90 in mid-morning activity today, up +33.8%.
