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A drug developed by AstraZeneca has markedly reduced the chances of diabetic patients being hospitalized with heart failure, a condition badociated with type 2 diabetes.
The findings, from a large clinical trial, represent a significant boost for the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker.
Cardio-vascular complications are common in people who contract type 2 diabetes, which has become a major burden on health systems worldwide.
In a clinical trial involving more than 17,000 patients with diabetes across 33 countries, the risk of hospitalization for heart failure, or cardiovascular death, by 17 percent compared with those on placebo.
The trial involved an unusually broad range of patients who have had a heart attack or stroke, but also those who have risk factors which have been predisposing to cardio-vascular problems. The results were consistent across both groups, said Astra.
Elisabeth Björk, head of cardiovascular, renal and metabolism for the company, said the findings were "clinically relevant to the world's people living with diabetes." People with the type 2 version of the condition had a "two-to-five times greater risk of heart failure along with an increased risk of heart attack or stroke ", she added.
Heart failure survival rates were only 50 percent after years of diagnosis, "which is why these findings are so important in our understanding of how to improve blood glucose levels." added.
In another cause, the importance of nephropathy – or kidney damage – by 24 percent compared to a placebo in the patient population studied.
Those taking Farxiga, compared with the placebo group, also suffered from any cause.
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Astra, which on Thursday reported its first quarter of product sales growth since 2014, is counting on new medicines, including Farxiga, to deliver sustainable growth for the company. Pascal Soriot, chief executive, has set a target that revenues should reach $ 45bn a year by 2023.
Year-to-date sales of Farxiga were worth $ 994m, growing by 32 percent in constant currencies compared with the same period last year. A significant portion of that growth was led by sales in emerging markets which grew by 57 per cent to $ 242m.
The company is expecting to seek US regulatory approval for Farxiga as a treatment for type 1 diabetes later this year, with further regulatory decisions expected in Japan and Europe in 2019.
It is also possible to determine an effective treatment for chronic kidney disease and heart failure.
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