Daewoong Pharmaceutical's Enblo Lowers Leptin Twice as Much as Dapagliflozin

Insulin resistance markers also improved

Enblo (ingredient: enavogliflozin), Daewoong Pharmaceutical's new diabetes drug, lowered blood levels of the appetite-regulating hormone leptin by about twice as much as dapagliflozin, another SGLT-2 inhibitor.

Product image of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's new diabetes drug Enblo. Daewoong Pharmaceutical

On October 28, Daewoong Pharmaceutical said that after 427 patients with type 2 diabetes received either Enblo or dapagliflozin for 24 weeks, blood leptin levels fell by -2.08 μg/L in the Enblo group, about twice the reduction of -1.09 μg/L in the dapagliflozin group. The difference remained similar in an analysis that statistically adjusted for the difference in weight change between the two groups. The study results were published in the international journal Cardiovascular Diabetology.

Leptin is a hormone secreted by fat cells that helps maintain a stable amount of body fat. Patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity often have high blood leptin levels because of "leptin resistance," a condition in which the brain does not properly respond to leptin signals. Leptin resistance tends to occur alongside insulin resistance, so lower leptin levels are interpreted as a sign of an improved metabolic environment. Until now, leptin had been viewed as a measure that declines as weight decreases.

A difference was also seen in an indicator of insulin resistance. The insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was -1.36 in the Enblo group, a significantly greater improvement than the -1.05 in the dapagliflozin group. As leptin levels fell, insulin resistance and other insulin-related indicators, including insulin and C-peptide, also tended to improve. By contrast, there was no difference between the two drugs in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) or weight change. The drugs had similar effects on lowering blood sugar, but differed in leptin levels and some indicators of insulin resistance.

This study combined analyses of two phase 3 clinical trials of Enblo announced in 2022. Corresponding author Park Cheol-young, a professor in the Division of Endocrinology at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, said, "Since dysfunction in adipose tissue and insulin resistance are closely linked to cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic health, these results could provide a basis for exploring Enblo's role from a cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) perspective." He added, "The long-term clinical significance needs to be confirmed through follow-up studies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.