Why carry out this study?

Although insulin remains the standard supplemental treatment prescribed to patients WITH T2D with inadequate glycemic control despite using three different OADs, not all patients are willing to inject themselves with insulin. For this reason, this study was designed to examine whether alternate oral antidiabetic drugs, specifically empagliflozin, can be prescribed to these patients to provide effective control of their glycemic index.

What was learned from the study?

The durability of the efficacy of empagliflozin as a fourth agent was maintained over 3 years, and empagliflozin showed similar or better glycemic control compared to basal long-acting insulin and yielded a body weight reduction. The addition of empagliflozin rather than basal insulin could become a viable treatment option for patients with T2D who have suboptimal glycemic control with multiple OADs.