Efficacy and Safety of Empagliflozin (BI 10773) With Metformin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Summary

This is a pivotal phase III study, mandatory to seek approval by regulatory authorities for BI 10773 as an anti-diabetic agent compared to an active comparator in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and insufficient glycaemic control.

Timeline

Start

2010-08

Primary completion

2013-08

Completion

2015-08

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

paper Empagliflozin was non-inferior to glimepiride at both timepoints. PMID 24948511 ↗

paper At week 104, adjusted mean difference in change from baseline in HbA1c with empagliflozin versus glimepiride was -0·11% (95% CI -0·19 to -0·02; p=0·0153 for superiority). PMID 24948511 ↗

Publications

• Dennis JM, Young KG, Cardoso P, Gudemann LM, McGovern AP, Farmer A, Holman RR, Sattar N, McKinley TJ, Pearson ER, Jones AG, Shields BM, Hattersley AT; MASTERMIND Consortium. A five-drug class model using routinely available clinical features to optimise prescribing in type 2 diabetes: a prediction model development and validation study. Lancet. 2025 Mar 1;405(10480):701-714. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02617-5. Epub 2025 Feb 25.
• Natale P, Tunnicliffe DJ, Toyama T, Palmer SC, Saglimbene VM, Ruospo M, Gargano L, Stallone G, Gesualdo L, Strippoli GF. Sodium-glucose co-transporter protein 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for people with chronic kidney disease and diabetes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 May 21;5(5):CD015588. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015588.pub2.
• Salem A, Men P, Ramos M, Zhang YJ, Ustyugova A, Lamotte M. Cost-effectiveness analysis of empagliflozin compared with glimepiride in patients with Type 2 diabetes in China. J Comp Eff Res. 2021 Apr;10(6):469-480. doi: 10.2217/cer-2020-0284. Epub 2021 Feb 12.
• Ridderstrale M, Andersen KR, Zeller C, Kim G, Woerle HJ, Broedl UC; EMPA-REG H2H-SU trial investigators. Comparison of empagliflozin and glimepiride as add-on to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: a 104-week randomised, active-controlled, double-blind, phase 3 trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2014 Sep;2(9):691-700. doi: 10.1016/S2213-8587(14)70120-2. Epub 2014 Jun 16.
• Ridderstrale M, Svaerd R, Zeller C, Kim G, Woerle HJ, Broedl UC; EMPA-REG H2H-SU trial investigators. Rationale, design and baseline characteristics of a 4-year (208-week) phase III trial of empagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, versus glimepiride as add-on to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with insufficient glycemic control. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2013 Sep 5;12:129. doi: 10.1186/1475-2840-12-129.

Drugs

Evaluation	Drug	Modality	Dose	Route
Subject	Empagliflozin	Small molecule	25 mg	Oral
Comparator	Glimepiride	Small molecule	—	Oral

Indications