Liraglutide vs Exenatide: Patient Adherence, Medication Persistence and Economic Evaluation in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Liraglutide and Exenatide are used in adults who are affected by type-2 diabetes to control their blood glucose level. They are administered by the patients by subcutaneous injection, Liraglutide once a day while Exenatide twice a day. The aim of this study was to evaluate medication adherence and persistence of treatment with Liraglutide and Exenatide with a new strategy of calculation also giving economic evaluations on therapy costs for Received Daily Dose. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, we took into account 16 months from 1st September 2011 to 31st December 2012. Treatment adherence was quantified utilizing the ratio between RDD and Prescribed Daily Dose (PDD). Persistence is calculated into account the actual therapy days, comparing posology with supplied dose and the graph is drawn using Kaplan-Meir method. Results: The number of patients studied for Liraglutide was 114 and 220 and 58 and 60 for Exenatide respectively in 2011 and 2012. Adherence to therapy, calculated as the ratio between RDD and PDD, in 2011 was 0.93 for Exenatide and 0.87 for Liraglutide, while in 2012 it was 0.94 and 0.90 for Liraglutide and Exenatide, respectively. The cost per day of therapy (cost per RDD) for Liraglutide was €2.88 and €2.78 and for Exenatide was €2.37 and €2.48 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Conclusion: The dosage regimen, therefore, plays an important role in improving the medication adherence.