Diabetes Drug News 2017: SGLT-2 Inhibitors for Type 2 Diabetes Reduce Risk for Heart Failure, Death
A new real-world evidence study has revealed that a new class of diabetes medicines called SGLT-2 inhibitors can significantly reduce the risk of death and hospitalization for heart failure.
AstraZeneca's CVD-REAL study analyzed data from more than 300,000 patients with type-2 diabetes across six countries — Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Eighty-seven percent of the participants did not have a history of cardiovascular disease.
SGLT-2 or sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 is a protein found in humans, which facilitates the reabsorption of glucose in the kidney. SGLT-2 inhibitors then work to remove excess glucose in the kidneys as well as lower blood glucose levels.
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In the study, patients were noted to be taking SGLT-2 inhibitors from different drug companies such as Farxiga (dapagliglozin) from AstraZeneca, Invokana (canagliflozin) from Janssen and Jardiance (empagliflozin) from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company.
The study is still ongoing but preliminary results were announced at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session last weekend. Results showed that the rate of hospitalization for heart failure was reduced by 39 percent and death from any cause was reduced by 51 percent.
"The fact that the results are remarkably consistent from country to country regardless of which compound predominates, that certainly seems to suggest that it's a class effect," said Dr. Mikhail Kosibrod, a cardiologist from St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City who also presented the results at the convention.
Findings from the CVD-REAL study are promising as they could pave the way when it comes to improving patient outcomes for those with type-2 diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, in 2015, over 400 million adults had been diagnosed with diabetes and it resulted in 5 million deaths that year. It is expected that the number will increase to over 640 million adults by 2040.
The ability of SGLT-2 inhibitors to reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and death is also notable as heart attacks are one of the most common complications associated with the disease.
