LIXISENATIDE (Lyxumia)

Manufacturer: Sanofi Aventis

Used for: Treatment of T2DM alone or as an additional therapy with other glucose lowering medications including insulin.

Recommended dose: 10 ug daily for 14 days; 20 ug daily thereafter. Give injection within an hour

before any (and always the same) meal of the day. If the dose is missed, take it before the following meal.

Monotherapy License: No.

Insulin License: Yes.

Side Effects

Very common: Hypoglycaemia with sulfonylurea or insulin, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea, headache. 

Common: Upper respiratory tract infections, bladder infections, viral infections, hypoglycaemia with metformin, dizziness, somnolence, back pain, dyspepsia, itch at the injection site. 

Rare: anaphylactic reactions, urticaria.

Renal Impairment: Not recommended if Cr clearance is < 30ml/min. Cr Clearance 50-50ml/min: use with caution (yes, that is really the recommendation…). Cr clearance > 50 ml/min

Pregnancy and lactation: Stop before pregnancy, do not use during pregnancy. Do not use while breast feeding.

Contraindications: Allergy to any of the ingredients. In addition to this, in the US, also a past medical history or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or Multiple Endocrine Hyperplasia Type 2 (MEN 2). If a patient develops pancreatitis while taking this medication, do not restart the medication after the episode of pancreatitis.