Diabetes Drug to be Evaluated for Chronic Heart Failure

Recently, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly announced plans to conduct 2 additional outcome trials with the diabetes drug Jardiance within the next 12 months in patients with cardiovascular conditions. These new studies will build upon findings from the trial EMPA-REG OUTCOME.

EMPA-REG OUTCOME was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that included over 7000 patients with type 2 diabetes who also had a high risk for cardiovascular events.

The effect of Jardiance, along with glucose-lowering agents and cardiovascular drugs, such as blood pressure and cholesterol medication, were studied.

Researchers found that over a 3.1 year period, patients receiving Jardiance had a 14% reduction in non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke compared with another group receiving a placebo.

Cardiovascular death was also reduced by 38%.

According to the study, Jardiance also reduced the risk of hospitalization for heart failure.

“The EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial demonstrated that JARDIANCE reduces the risk of cardiovascular death in diabetes patients at high CV risk, and we now look forward to exploring whether JARDIANCE can also provide heart failure benefits,” said Hans-Juergen Woerle, MD, global vice president medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim.