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 Jardiance, developed in partnership with privately held German
drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, was approved by U.S. regulators in
August 2014 to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. The
once-daily pill is a member of a new class of diabetes drugs called
SGLT-2 inhibitors, which work by eliminating glucose through urine.
Researchers on Tuesday said data from the 7,000-patient study showed
that worsening of kidney disease was seen in 12.7 percent of
patients taking Jardiance and standard treatments, compared with
almost 19 percent in patients taking only standard treatments, which
included statins and blood pressure drugs. That translated to a 39
percent reduction in risk of developing or worsening of kidney
disease in adults with type 2 diabetes that had a history of heart
disease.
Moreover, there was a 55 percent reduction in the need for renal
replacement therapy, such as dialysis, in the Jardiance group.
The results are significant, Lilly and Boehringer said, because more
than one third of patients with type 2 diabetes develop kidney
disease - which itself greatly increases risk of heart disease.
The number of serious side effects in the trial was similar in both
patient groups, although a higher incidence of genital infections
was seen among those taking Jardiance.
Findings were presented at the annual scientific meeting of the
American Diabetes Association, being held in New Orleans.
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The three-year trial created a stir last August when Lilly and
Boehringer released data showing Jardiance cut overall deaths by 32
percent and slashed cardiovascular deaths by 38 percent, when
compared with standard treatments.
Interest in the drug intensified in November when a further analysis
of the data showed Jardiance reduced combined risk of
hospitalization for heart failure or death from heart failure by 39
percent.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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