compareToujeo Solostar vs Lantus

Toujeo Solostar vs Lantus

Drug facts and comparison

✅
Medically reviewed by  Jamie Winn, PharmD

Uses

  • Type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults and children over six years of age
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$49 per month
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  • Type 1 diabetes in adults and children six years and older
  • Type 2 diabetes in adults
Get Lantus for only
$49 per month
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Summary

Brand name: Toujeo Solostar
Brand name: Lantus
Manufacturer: Sanofi-Aventis
Manufacturer: Sanofi-Aventis
Active ingredient: insulin glargine
Active ingredient: insulin glargine
Indication: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults and children over six years of age
Indication: Type 1 diabetes in adults and children 6 years and older. Type 2 diabetes in adults
Frequency of injection: Once per day
Frequency of injection: Once per day
Duration of action: Once per day
Duration of action: Once per day
Injection method: Subcutaneous injection
Injection method: Subcutaneous injection

Side Effects

Most common

  • Reactions at the site of injection, such as itching, rashes, skin thickening, or pits forming in your skin (lipodystrophy)
  • Allergic reactions
  • Weight gain
  • Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

More serious

  • Heart failure (more likely if used alongside a thiazolidinedione diabetes medication)
  • Severe allergic reactions to the medication can cause anaphylaxis
  • Your blood sugar falling too low to dangerous levels (hypoglycemia)
  • Low potassium levels in your blood (hypokalemia)

Most common

  • Reactions at the site of injection, such as itching, rashes, skin thickening, or pits forming in your skin (lipodystrophy)
  • Allergic reactions
  • Weight gain
  • Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

More serious

  • Heart failure (more likely if used alongside a thiazolidinedione diabetes medication)
  • Severe allergic reactions to the medication can cause anaphylaxis
  • Your blood sugar falling too low to dangerous levels (hypoglycemia)
  • Low potassium levels in your blood (hypokalemia)

Drug Interactions

Severe Interaction
  • Antibiotics for bacterial infections such as ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin
Serious Interactions
  • Thiazolidinedione medications (TZDs) such as pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, taken to treat diabetes
  • Any other diabetes medications – metformin, glipizide
  • Beta-blockers, taken to treat high blood pressure – propranolol, sotalol
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, taken to treat high blood pressure and certain heart conditions – captopril, enalapril
  • Guanethidine and reserpine, taken to treat high blood pressure
  • Diuretics, taken to make you lose water and salt, usually to treat high blood pressure – bumetanide, furosemide
  • Clonidine, taken to treat a range of conditions including high blood pressure
  • Corticosteroids such as cortisone and prednisolone
  • Fenofibrate, taken to lower blood triglyceride levels
  • Angiotensin II receptor blockers, taken to treat high blood pressure, diabetic kidney damage, and heart failure – candesartan, losartan, valsartan
  • Beta 2-stimulants, taken to treat asthma – salmeterol
  • Antidepressants, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – phenelzine, selegiline, sertraline
  • Disopyramide, taken to treat heart rhythm problems
  • Estrogen-containing drugs including birth control and hormone replacements
Moderate Interactions
  • Steroids used topically (on the skin) such as betamethasone, clobetasol, hydrocortisone, and mometasone
  • Diltiazem, used for the treatment of high blood pressure
Severe Interactions
  • Antibiotics for bacterial infections such as ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin
Serious Interactions
  • Thiazolidinedione medications (TZDs) such as pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, taken to treat diabetes
  • Any other diabetes medications – metformin, glipizide
  • Beta-blockers, taken to treat high blood pressure – propranolol, sotalol
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, taken to treat high blood pressure and certain heart conditions – captopril, enalapril
  • Guanethidine and reserpine, taken to treat high blood pressure
  • Diuretics, taken to make you lose water and salt, usually to treat high blood pressure – bumetanide, furosemide
  • Clonidine, taken to treat a range of conditions including high blood pressure
  • Corticosteroids such as cortisone and prednisolone
  • Fenofibrate, taken to lower blood triglyceride levels
  • Angiotensin II receptor blockers, taken to treat high blood pressure, diabetic kidney damage, and heart failure – candesartan, losartan, valsartan
  • Beta 2-stimulants, taken to treat asthma – salmeterol
  • Antidepressants, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors – phenelzine, selegiline, sertraline
  • Disopyramide, taken to treat heart rhythm problems
  • Estrogen containing drugs including birth control and hormone replacements
Moderate Interactions
  • Steroids used topically (on the skin) such as betamethasone, clobetasol, hydrocortisone, and mometasone
  • Diltiazem, used for the treatment of high blood pressure

Warnings

You should not use Toujeo if you:

  • Are allergic to the active ingredient insulin glargine
  • Are allergic to any of the other ingredients found in Toujeo
  • Are under six years of age

You should talk to your doctor before using Toujeo if you:

  • Have liver or kidney disease
  • Have low levels of potassium in your blood
  • Are over 65 years of age
  • Are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding or are planning to breastfeed

You should not use Lantus if you:

  • Are allergic to the active ingredient insulin glargine
  • Are allergic to any of the other ingredients in Lantus
  • Are under 6 years of age for type 1 diabetes
  • Are under 18 years of age for type 2 diabetes
  • Have diabetic ketoacidosis – a condition where high blood sugar causes high levels of ketones to build up in your body

You should talk to your doctor before using Lantus if you:

  • Are taking any of the medications that could interact with Lantus
  • Have any heart problems
  • Have any have liver or kidney problems
  • Have low levels of potassium in your blood
  • If you suffer from low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
  • Are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding or are planning to breastfeed
  • Are over 65 years of age

Dosage

Once per day

Once per day

Cost

4.5 milliliters of Toujeo Solostar (300 units/mL) costs around $419

 

A 10 ml, 100 unit vial of Lantus costs approximately $306

FAQs

Toujeo and Lantus are two of the most common type of insulin products used for people with type 1 diabetes mellitus and type 2 diabetes mellitus. They are long-acting human insulins, so usually only need to be injected once a day.

Both medications are forms of insulin glargine, a long-acting basal insulin analog produced by the manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis. Here we explain how they work as insulin therapy, the similarities and differences between Toujeo vs. Lantus, their side effects, and more. This should provide you with the basics to better understand your options.

What is Toujeo?

Toujeo is an FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved medication manufactured by Sanofi-aventis. Toujeo is a man-made version of the long-acting insulins. It’s used to help people with type I and type II diabetes to manage their blood glucose control. It can be prescribed to adults and children over six years of age. Toujeo is injected under the skin, usually once every 24 hours, using pre-filled pen devices.

Diabetes is a condition that causes you to have high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). When you digest food, sugar is released into your blood. It’s then transported around your body in your blood to be taken to the organs and cells that use it. A hormone called insulin draws the sugar out of your blood for your organs and cells.

In people with diabetes, limited sugar is drawn out of the blood. This is usually caused by not having enough insulin, or your body not responding to insulin as efficiently as it should. Having high blood glucose levels over a long period can cause a range of serious health problems, including nerve damage, kidney disease, heart disease, and strokes.

Toujeo helps with diabetes by encouraging your body to draw more sugar out of your blood. It’s a long-acting form of insulin that helps you maintain lower blood sugar levels over long periods of time.

The active ingredient in Toujeo is insulin glargine. It’s a type of man-made insulin that’s similar to the insulin your body makes naturally. When you inject Toujeo under your skin, insulin glargine is released into your blood supply. Over time, the insulin glargine attaches itself to cells in your body. As it does so, it causes your cells to release a substance that helps them absorb sugar from your blood.

Toujeo dosage

Toujeo is available in the following formulations: Injection: 300 units/mL insulin glargine in 1.5 mL Toujeo SoloStar prefilled insulin pens, and 3 mL Toujeo Max SoloStar prefilled pens.

Individualize your insulin dose based on your diabetes, metabolic requirements, blood glucose results and your glycemic control goal. Inject subcutaneously into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm once daily at any time, at the same time each day. Rotate the injection site to reduce the risk of lipodystrophy and localized cutaneous amyloidosis.

What is Lantus?

Drug 2 is an FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved medication manufactured by Sanofi-aventis. Lantus is a long-acting synthetic insulin prescribed to reduce high blood sugar levels in adults and children aged 6 years and over with type 1 diabetes, or adults with type 2 diabetes.

Lantus works in the same way as the insulin your body naturally produces. The medication helps your cells absorb sugar from your blood. As it is a slow-acting version of insulin. One injection can give you all the insulin you need over 24 hours. You inject Lantus under your skin subcutaneously using a syringe or a pre-filled injectable SoloStar pen.

The active ingredient in Lantus is called insulin glargine, a type of synthetic (man-made) insulin. Insulin glargine works in a similar way to the insulin your body makes naturally, except it’s been designed to be slower acting to work over a longer period.

When you inject Lantus under your skin, the insulin glargine is released into your bloodstream. It travels around your body and attaches to cells that need sugar. This causes your cells to release a substance that helps them absorb sugar from your blood. Insulin glargine can be active for up to 24 hours, so it can cover your insulin needs for up to a day.

Lantus dosage

Lantus is available in injection form, in the following doses: 10 mL multiple-dose vials, and 3 mL SoloStar prefilled pens.

Individualize your insulin dose based on your diabetes, metabolic requirements, blood glucose results, and your glycemic control goal. Inject subcutaneously into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm once daily at any time, at the same time each day. Rotate the injection site to reduce the risk of lipodystrophy and localized cutaneous amyloidosis.

Toujeo is not bioequivalent to insulin glargine 100 units/ml (Lantus) and they are not interchangeable without dose adjustment. Unit for unit, patients started on or changed to a Toujeo insulin regimen require a higher dose than patients controlled with Lantus.

Common side effects of Toujeo and Lantus

The most common side effects of Toujeo in clinical trials include:

  • Changes in skin texture
  • Allergic reactions that cause inflammation and hives

More serious side effects of Toujeo include:

  • Life-threatening allergic reactions
  • Vision defects, including full loss of vision
  • Risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

The most common side effects of Lantus in clinical trials include:

  • Allergic reactions that can cause swelling of your face, tongue, or throat
  • Injection site reactions, like itching, rashes, skin thickening, or pits forming in your skin (lipodystrophy)
  • Hypoglycemia
  • Weight gain

More serious side effects of Lantus include

  • Severe allergic reactions
  • Your blood sugar falling too low to dangerous levels (severe hypoglycemia)
  • Heart failure, if you take Lantus with other medications called TZDs (thiazolidinediones)
  • Low potassium levels in your blood (hypokalemia)

These aren’t all the side effects Toujeo or Drug 2 can cause. You can find more details in the patient leaflet that comes with your medication. If you have any concerns about adverse events, talk to a healthcare professional.

Toujeo and Lantus drug interactions

Toujeo can interact with other medications. These include:

  • Other diabetes medications
  • Sulfonamide antibiotics
  • Beta-blockers
  • Fibrates
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
  • Corticosteroids
  • Protease inhibitors for HIV
  • Diuretics
  • Thyroid hormones

Lantus can interact with other medications. These include:

  • Thiazolidinedione medications
  • Any other diabetes medications
  • Beta-blockers
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
  • Fibrates
  • Corticosteroids
  • Protease inhibitors
  • Diuretics
  • Clonidine, is taken to treat a range of conditions including high blood pressure, ADHD, drug withdrawal, menopausal flushing, and certain pain conditions
  • Guanethidine and reserpine, taken to treat high blood pressure

Toujeo and Lantus can interact with other medications. This can change how Toujeo and Lantus and other medications work and can make side effects more likely. Tell your prescribing physician about all drugs you’re taking, including vitamins and dietary supplements.

Toujeo and Lantus contraindications

You should not use Toujeo if you:

  • Are allergic to the active ingredient insulin glargine
  • Are allergic to any of the other ingredients found in Toujeo
  • Are under six years of age

Talk to your doctor before using Toujeo if you:

  • Have liver or kidney disease
  • Have low levels of potassium in your blood
  • Are over 65 years of age
  • Are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding or are planning to breastfeed

You should not use Lantus if you:

  • Are allergic to the active ingredient insulin glargine
  • Are allergic to any of the other ingredients in Lantus
  • Are under 6 years of age for type 1 diabetes
  • Are under 18 years of age for type 2 diabetes
  • Have diabetic ketoacidosis – a condition where high blood sugar causes high levels of ketones to build up in your body

Talk to your doctor before using Lantus if you:

  • Have any heart problems
  • Have any liver or kidney problems
  • Have low levels of potassium in your blood
  • Are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant
  • Are breastfeeding or are planning to breastfeed
  • Are over 65 years of age

Other drugs for type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus

Medication errors and mix-ups between basal insulin products and other insulins, particularly rapid-acting insulins can occur. You should always verify the insulin label before using each injection. If you have any concerns about Toujeo or Lantus side effects, talk to your physician, or pharmacist for medical advice. Also inform your healthcare provider about any medical conditions, supplements, and over-the-counter meds you are taking. You are also encouraged to report side effects to the FDA: visit http://www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

The content on this website is intended for information purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. The information on this website should not be relied upon and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should always speak to your doctor regarding the risks and benefits of any treatment.
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