Bioequivalence of Ultra Rapid Lispro (URLi) U100 and U200 Formulations in Healthy Subjects

INTRODUCTION: Ultra rapid lispro (URLi) is a novel insulin lispro formulation that was developed to more closely match physiological insulin secretion. The aims of this study were to demonstrate the bioequivalence (BE) of a concentrated formulation (U200) of URLi to the U100 formulation of URLi after subcutaneous (SC) administration and to evaluate the glucodynamics (GD) of these formulations. METHODS: This phase 1, randomized, two‐sequence, four‐period, double-blind, replicate crossover study was conducted in 68 healthy subjects. At each dosing visit, subjects received a 15-U SC dose of either U100 URLi or U200 URLi followed by a 10-h euglycemic clamp procedure. Serum insulin lispro and blood glucose concentrations were measured, and the glucose infusion rate was continuously adjusted during the clamp to maintain the target blood glucose. RESULTS: Bioequivalence of U200 URLi relative to U100 URLi was demonstrated. The 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of the ratios of geometric least squares (LS) means for the maximum insulin concentration and total exposure were within the BE limits of 0.80–1.25. Additionally, the 90% CIs for the ratios of geometric LS means for maximum glucose infusion rate and total glucose infused were within the BE limits. The early 50% t(max) occurred at approximately the same time for the U100 and U200 URLi formulations, and the insulin exposure within the first 15 min was similar for both formulations. The tolerability of the two URLi formulations was comparable. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the U100 and U200 URLi formulations are bioequivalent. The accelerated insulin absorption observed for the U100 formulation was maintained with the U200 URLi formulation. Further, the GD were similar for both formulations, supporting the ability of individuals to transfer from U100 to U200 URLi in a 1:1 unit conversion. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03616977.