The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Tanzeum (albiglutide), manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, subcutaneous injection to improve glycemic control, along with diet and exercise, in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Tanzeum is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, a hormone that helps normalize blood sugar levels. The drug’s safety and effectiveness were evaluated in eight clinical trials involving more than 2,000 patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients participating in the trials showed an improvement in their HbA1c level (hemoglobin A1c or glycosylated hemoglobin, a measure of blood sugar control). Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 24 million people and accounts for more than 90 percent of diabetes cases diagnosed in the United States.
Tanzeum has been studied as a stand-alone therapy and in combination with other type 2 diabetes therapies, including metformin, glimepiride, pioglitazone, and insulin. Tanzeum should not be used to treat people with type 1 diabetes; those who have increased ketones in their blood or urine (diabetic ketoacidosis); or as first-line therapy for patients who can’t be managed with diet and exercise.
Tanzeum has a Boxed Warning to warn that tumors of the thyroid gland (thyroid C-cell tumors) have been observed in rodent studies with some GLP-1 receptor agonists, but that it is unknown whether Tanzeum causes thyroid C-cell tumors, including a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), in humans. Tanzeum should not be used in patients with a personal or family history of MTC or in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (a disease where patients have tumors in more than one gland in their body and that predisposes them to MTC).
The FDA is requiring post-marketing studies for Tanzeum on a clinical trial to evaluate dosing, efficacy, and safety in pediatric patients; a medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) case registry of at least 15 years duration to identify any increase in MTC incidence related to Tanzeum; a cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) to evaluate the cardiovascular risk of Tanzeum in patients with high baseline risk of cardiovascular disease.
In clinical trials, the most common side effects observed in patients treated with Tanzeum were diarrhea, nausea, and injection site reactions. The FDA approved Tanzeum with a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), which consists of a communication plan to inform health care providers about the serious risks associated with Tanzeum.
