Dasiglucagon, a next-generation ready-to-use glucagon analog, for treatment of severe hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: Results of a phase 3, randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Dasiglucagon, a next-generation, ready-to-use aqueous glucagon analog formulation, has been developed to treat severe hypoglycemia in individuals with diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this trial was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of dasiglucagon in pediatric individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Participants were children and adolescents (6-17 years) with T1DM.

Methods: In this randomized double-blind trial, 42 participants were randomly allocated (2:1:1) to a single subcutaneous (SC) injection of dasiglucagon (0.6 mg), placebo, or reconstituted glucagon (GlucaGen; dosed per label) during insulin-induced hypoglycemia. The primary endpoint was time to plasma glucose (PG) recovery (first PG increase ≥20 mg/dL after treatment initiation without rescue intravenous glucose). The primary comparison was dasiglucagon vs. placebo; glucagon acted as a reference.

Results: The median time (95% confidence interval) to PG recovery following SC injection was 10 min (8-12) for dasiglucagon vs. 30 min (20 to -) for placebo (P < .001); the median time for glucagon was 10 min (8-12), which did not include the time taken to reconstitute the lyophilized powder. PG recovery was achieved in all participants in the dasiglucagon and glucagon groups within 20 min of dosing compared to 2 out of 11 patients (18%) with placebo. The most frequent adverse events were nausea and vomiting, as expected with glucagon treatment.

Conclusions: Consistent with adult phase 3 trials, dasiglucagon rapidly and effectively restored PG levels following insulin-induced hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with T1DM, with an overall safety profile similar to glucagon.