94-LB: Long-Term Clinical Benefits of Early Combination Approach in Latin American Subpopulation of VERIFY Study

The VERIFY study showed long-term clinical benefits of the early combination therapy of vildagliptin with metformin (EC) vs. traditional stepwise approach initiating with metformin monotherapy (MET) in a multinational population of newly diagnosed adult patients with T2D (HbA1c 6.5-7.5%). This sub-analysis evaluated the outcomes in Latin American population. The primary endpoint was time to initial treatment failure (TF), defined as HbA1c ≥7.0% at two consecutive scheduled visits after randomization. The time to second TF was tested when patients in both groups were receiving and failing on the combination. A total of 537 eligible patients, 58.8% females, were randomly assigned to either receive the EC (n=266) or MET (n=271). EC significantly reduced the relative risk (RR) of time to initial TF by 47% vs. MET (HR [95% CI] 0.53 [0.4, 0.7]; p<0.0001). A total of 66.3% vs. 46.4% of patients achieved the primary endpoint in the MET and EC groups, with a median (interquartile range: IQR) time to TF of 33.4 (12.2, 60.1) and 59.8 (27.5, not estimable) months, respectively. The RR for time to secondary TF was reduced by 31% with EC (p<0.0092). With EC, HbA1c levels were consistently lower and higher proportion of patients maintained HbA1c <7.0%. Both treatment approaches were well tolerated, and only 3.2% participants discontinued the study due to adverse events. Seven patients in EC vs. three in MET, reported mostly one mild hypoglycemic episode, none leading to discontinuation. Similar to the global population, the long-term clinical benefits were achieved more frequently and without tolerability issues with the strategy of EC vs. standard-of-care MET in this Latin American population.