A phase-I randomized euglycemic clamp study to demonstrate the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic equivalence of an insulin degludec biosimilar (B01411) with the reference product in healthy Chinese volunteers

Background B01411 is a biosimilar candidate manufactured by Jilin Huisheng Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd for the reference insulin degludec (Tresiba) (IDeg). This study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and safety of the two IDeg products and to assess the PK/PD similarity of B01411 compared with the reference IDeg product.Research design & methods A single-center, single-dose, randomized, crossover, open-labeled, phase I, euglycemic clamp study in healthy Chinese subjects to examine the bioequivalence of B01411 (0.4 U/kg) compared with the reference IDeg product. Blood samples were collected at a predefined time for the analysis of blood glucose (BG), IDeg, and C-peptide concentrations. The glucose infusion rate (GIR) was adjusted to maintain the BG at approximately 0.28 mmol/L below baseline throughout the clamp.Results Thirty-two subjects (20 males and 12 females) were enrolled, 31 of whom received both treatments. The 90% confidence intervals for the ratio of the least-squares geometric means for AUCIDeg,0–24 h, AUCGIR,0–24 h, IDegmax, and GIRmax were all in the range of 0.80–1.25. Only one adverse event of puncture site bruising occurred once in a subject in the B01411 group.Conclusion B01411 exhibited a pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic similarity to the reference product. Both IDeg products were well tolerated.Clinical trial registration http://www.chinadrugtrials.org.cn/index.html#. Identifier is CTR20192122.