Short answer: Both are insulin glargine 100 units/mL, injected once a day at the same time.12 Basaglar is approved for type 1 diabetes in adults and children and type 2 in adults, in KwikPen and Tempo Pen. Lantus covers adults and children with diabetes, in a vial and SoloStar pen. The Basaglar label says a switch from another insulin glargine 100 units/mL uses the same dose.
| Basaglar | Lantus | |
|---|---|---|
| What is in it | Insulin glargine 100 units/mL1 | Insulin glargine 100 units/mL2 |
| Approved for | Type 1 diabetes in adults and children; type 2 diabetes in adults1 | Adults and children with diabetes2 |
| Forms | 3 mL KwikPen or Tempo Pen, up to 80 units per injection1 | 10 mL vial or 3 mL SoloStar pen2 |
| When injected | Once daily at any time, the same time every day1 | Once daily at any time, the same time every day2 |
| Starting dose, type 2 | 0.2 units/kg or up to 10 units once daily1 | 0.2 units/kg or up to 10 units once daily2 |
| Switching in | Same dose from another insulin glargine 100 units/mL; 80% from glargine 300 units/mL or twice-daily NPH1 | 80% from Toujeo or twice-daily NPH; same dose from once-daily NPH2 |
| Opened pen | 28 days at room temperature; do not refrigerate1 | 28 days at room temperature; do not refrigerate2 |
| Missed dose | No instruction in the label1 | No instruction in the label2 |
| Boxed warning | None1 | None2 |
Basaglar's own trials compared it with what the label calls "comparator insulin glargine products, 100 units/mL": another insulin glargine product, 100 units/mL, and a non-U.S.-licensed insulin glargine. In 535 adults with type 1 diabetes over 24 weeks, HbA1c fell 0.35% on Basaglar and 0.46% on the comparators (difference 0.11%, 95% CI −0.002 to 0.219). In 756 adults with type 2 diabetes it fell 1.3% in both groups.1 The label does not name Lantus as the comparator.
The rest of the Basaglar label's trial data, including the children's study and the 5-year and ORIGIN trials, comes from "another insulin glargine product, 100 units/mL." The same studies appear in the Lantus label as Lantus studies against NPH insulin.12
No. Both list low blood sugar as the most common reaction and say the long action may delay recovery from a low, plus never sharing pens, mix-ups, low potassium, allergic reactions and heart failure with thiazolidinediones. Neither is used in a pump, into a vein, or for diabetic ketoacidosis.12
Which, if either, fits is for your prescriber. More detail: Basaglar side effects, Lantus side effects, the Basaglar and Lantus dosing schedules, the Basaglar and Lantus missed-dose pages, Semglee vs Lantus: what does biosimilar mean on the label? and Toujeo vs Lantus: how do the two insulin glargine strengths differ?.