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Novo Nordisk A/S's (NOVO-B.KO)once-daily diabetes treatment liraglutide is substantially better at controlling blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes compared to the twice-daily treatment exenatide according to data published in U.K. medical journal The Lancet Monday.

Exenatide is marketed by Eli Lilly (LLY) and Amylin (AMLN) as Byetta.

According to the study of 464 patients by professor John Buse at the University of North Carolina and his colleagues, liraglutide reduced mean plasma glucose concentration as indicated by HbA1C by 1.12%, compared to a 0.79% reduction for patients on exenatide.

The mean baseline HbA1C for the study population was 8.2%.

Patients given liraglutide in the study lost 3.2 kilograms on average, while exenatide gave an average weight loss of 2.9 kilograms.

Both drugs were well tolerated in the patient group, although liraglutide led to less persistent nausea and less common hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar.

"The results suggest that liraglutide might be a treatment option for type 2 diabetes, especially when weight loss and risk of hypoglycaemia are major considerations," the study's authors said.

The study results come after a study published Sunday indicated that liraglutide was more effective than Sanofi-Aventis' (SNY) diabetes treatment Amaryl in reducing weight and controlling blood-sugar levels over a two-year period.

Journal Web site: www.thelancet.com

-By Gustav Sandstrom, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3099; gustav.sandstrom@dowjones.com