Trial reportDiabetologia2014
HARMONY 4: randomised clinical trial comparing once-weekly albiglutide and insulin glargine in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin with or without sulfonylurea.
Trial report in Diabetologia, 2014. The graph read 2 numbers from its abstract, feeding 2 cells of the map, but none could be read as for or against, so it casts no vote. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The model-adjusted treatment difference of 0.11% (95% CI -0.04%, 0.27%) (1.2 mmol/mol [95% CI -0.4, 3.0 mmol/mol]) indicated non-inferiority of albiglutide to insulin glargine based on the pre-specified non-inferiority margin of 0.3% (3.3 mmol/mol, p = 0.0086).
Body weight increased in the insulin glargine group and decreased in the albiglutide group, with a mean treatment difference of -2.61 kg (95% CI -3.20, -2.02; p < 0.0001).
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Where it lands on the map
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What it adds to each cell
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GLP-1 receptor agonists×glycemic control
No readable resultOpen on the map →What to test next →40 readable studies in this cell: 96 favour the treatment, 17 find no difference, 10 favour the comparator.
This paper's own estimate is on a different scale from the rest of the cell, so it is not drawn here.
Insulin×glycemic control
No readable resultOpen on the map →What to test next →40 readable studies in this cell: 15 favour the treatment, 14 find no difference, 14 favour the comparator.
This paper's own estimate is on a different scale from the rest of the cell, so it is not drawn here.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Randomized, Open-label, Parallel-group, Multicenter Study to Determine the Efficacy and Long-term Safety of Albiglutide Compared With Insulin in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Exercise Snacks and Glutamine to Improve Glucose Control in Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists on osteoarthritis risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Acta diabetologica · 2026Pooled it
- Injection-site and dermatologic reactions associated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists: Insights from meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials and real-world evidence.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Pooled it
- Divergent Risks of Hematologic Malignancies Associated with GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and SGLT2 Inhibitors: Preliminary Findings from a Pilot Network Meta-Analysis.Biomolecules · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of GLP-1 agonists in the treatment of T2DM: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025 · on this mapPooled it
- Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Venous Thromboembolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Pooled it
- The pharmacodynamics-based prophylactic benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors on neurodegenerative diseases: evidence from a network meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of Hemoglobin A1c Reduction or Weight Reduction on Blood Pressure in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitor Treatment in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2020Pooled it
- GLP-1 receptor agonists and risk of cancer in type 2 diabetes: an updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Endocrine · 2019Pooled it
- Metformin and second- or third-generation sulphonylurea combination therapy for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019 · on this mapPooled it
- Risk of Malignant Neoplasia with Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Treatment in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of diabetes research · 2019 · on this mapPooled it
- Effect of Long-term Incretin-Based Therapies on Ischemic Heart Diseases in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Network Meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2017Pooled it
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists compared with basal insulins for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2017 · on this mapPooled it
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and heart failure in type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and observational studies.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2016Pooled it
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial to assess the effect of liraglutide on ectopic fat accumulation in South Asian type 2 diabetes patients.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2019Trial
- Efficacy and safety of once-weekly dulaglutide versus insulin glargine in mainly Asian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on metformin and/or a sulphonylurea: A 52-week open-label, randomized phase III trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Efficacy and safety of once-weekly dulaglutide in combination with sulphonylurea and/or biguanide compared with once-daily insulin glargine in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, open-label, phase III, non-inferiority study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2015Trial
- Reassessing the risk-modifying effects of novel antidiabetic agents on asthma-COPD overlap syndrome: a dose-stratified network meta-analysis of 316,832 adults from 128 randomised trials.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Differential Acute Kidney Injury Profiles of GLP-1RAs and SGLT2is: A Network Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Agent- and Dose-Specific Intestinal Obstruction Safety of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and SGLT2 Inhibitors: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The marked sentences are the ones the graph read a number from.
aims/hypothesisThe aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of once-weekly albiglutide with once-daily insulin glargine (A21Gly,B31Arg,B32Arg human insulin) in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on metformin with or without sulfonylurea.
methodsThis was a randomised, open-label, multicentre (n = 222), parallel-group, non-inferiority out-patient clinical trial, with 779 patients enrolled in the study. The study was conducted in 222 centres located in four countries. Patients aged ≥18 years with type 2 diabetes treated with metformin (±sulfonylurea) for at least 3 months with a baseline HbA1c 7.0-10.0% (53.0-85.8 mmol/mol) were randomly assigned (2:1) via a computer-generated randomisation sequence with a voice response system to receive albiglutide (30 mg once a week, n = 504) or insulin glargine (10 U once a day, n = 241) added to current therapy. Participants and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment. Doses of each medication were adjusted on the basis of the glycaemic response. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in HbA1c at week 52.
resultsIn the albiglutide group, HbA1c declined from 8.28 ± 0.90% (67.0 ± 9.8 mmol/mol) (mean ± SD) at baseline to 7.62 ± 1.12% (59.8 ± 12.2 mmol/mol) at week 52. A similar reduction occurred in the insulin glargine group (8.36 ± 0.95% to 7.55 ± 1.04% [67.9 ± 10.4 to 59.0 ± 11.4 mmol/mol]). The model-adjusted treatment difference of 0.11% (95% CI -0.04%, 0.27%) (1.2 mmol/mol [95% CI -0.4, 3.0 mmol/mol]) indicated non-inferiority of albiglutide to insulin glargine based on the pre-specified non-inferiority margin of 0.3% (3.3 mmol/mol, p = 0.0086). Body weight increased in the insulin glargine group and decreased in the albiglutide group, with a mean treatment difference of -2.61 kg (95% CI -3.20, -2.02; p < 0.0001). Documented symptomatic hypoglycaemia occurred in a higher proportion of patients in the insulin glargine group than in the albiglutide group (27.4% vs 17.5%, p = 0.0377). CONCLUSIONS/
interpretationAlbiglutide was non-inferior to insulin glargine at reducing HbA1c at week 52, with modest weight loss and less hypoglycaemia. Both drugs were well tolerated. Albiglutide may be considered an alternative to insulin glargine in this patient population.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00838916 (completed)
fundingThis study was planned and conducted by GlaxoSmithKline.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.