With all the insulins and other diabetic medications on the market, there are plenty of diverse options available to help people treat and manage their diabetes. Which one is best for the individual will vary on a case-by-case basis, and a doctor will decide which is best in each case. While there are certainly some vastly different medications out there, two popular synthetic insulins–Basaglar and Lantus–are extremely similar. So, what is the difference between Basaglar and Lantus, anyway?
Basaglar
Basaglar is a trade name for the long-acting, synthetic insulin glargine. Eli Lilly and Company manufactures this medication.
Indications
Basaglar is indicated (recommended) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults and type 1 diabetes in both adults and children.
Contraindications
The FDA does not advise this medication for treating diabetic ketoacidosis (diabetic acidosis or DKA). Additionally, people prone to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) episodes or are otherwise hypersensitive to Basaglar or any of its components should not take this medication.
Lantus
Like Basaglar, Lantus is another trade-name formulation of insulin glargine. Sanofi produces this drug.
Indications
Lantus treats the same population as Basaglar: adults and children with type 1 diabetes and adults with type 2 diabetes.
Contraindications
As is the case with Basaglar, people should not use Lantus if they have diabetic ketoacidosis, are experiencing a hypoglycemic episode, and/or are hypersensitive to this drug or any of its components.
Basaglar vs Lantus – What is the Difference?
Basaglar and Lantus are extremely similar since they contain insulin glargine; they even have the same amino-acid chain sequence. Not only are they taken the same way, but they are also fairly equitable in terms of safety and efficacy.
The differences between these two drugs are relatively minor. For starters, different companies produce these drugs and manufacture them in different ways. While they are fairly close in price, Basaglar is currently the slightly cheaper option in the United States. Although, these price differences can change based on insurance. Finally, Basaglar is only available as a prefilled 3 mL pen [100 units/mL (U-100) injection] while Lantus is available as both a 10 mL multi-dose vial and a 3 mL single-patient pen [both 100 units/mL (U-100) injection].
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