A new diabetes medicine has shown significant reduction in both cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular death in a dedicated outcome trial. The results was presented yesterday at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Stockholm.
The study, supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly and Company, shows that Jardiance® (empagliflozin) significantly reduced the risk of the combined endpoint of cardiovascular (CV) death, non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke by 14 percent when added to standard of care in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of CV events. There was a 38 percent reduction in CV death, with no significant difference in the risk of non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke. In addition, treatment with the medicine resulted in a lower risk of all-cause mortality (32 percent reduction) and hospitalization for heart failure (35 percent reduction).
“These results are both novel and exciting for the millions of people living with type 2 diabetes at risk for cardiovascular disease. Addressing the burden of cardiovascular events, including death, is at the core of diabetes care, and until now no single diabetes medication has been associated with a reduction in mortality,” said lead investigator of the trial Bernard Zinman, M.D., Director, Diabetes Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital; Senior Scientist, Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, and Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. “In this study, empagliflozin was shown to prevent one out of three cardiovascular deaths.”
“The Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly Diabetes Alliance is very pleased to share the results of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial with the healthcare community,” said Prof. Hans-Juergen Woerle, Global Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. “Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes worldwide and reducing cardiovascular risk, including death, is an essential component of diabetes management.”
