Lilly Posts New Jardiance Data In Diabetes At AHA 2014

Eli Lilly & Co. on behalf of its partner Boehringer Ingelheim presented new data from a retrospective analysis of clinical trials showing that Jardiance (empagliflozin) reduced average blood sugar, body weight, and several markers of abdominal fat in adults with Type 2 diabetes. The company presented the new data at the 2014 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Chicago.

Empagliflozin is sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor that keeps the kidney from reabsorbing glucose. This increases glucose excretion, thereby lowering the level of blood sugar in diabetics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved empagliflozin in August this year as an adjunct therapy to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Eli Lilly launched Jardiance in the U.S. in the same month.

Among the data presented at AHA are the analyses of two sets of adults with T2D treated with either Jardiance or placebo for 12 or 24 weeks. Analyses show that in both groups, Jardiance significantly reduced hemoglobin A1C, a measure of average blood sugar in the past two to three months. The drug was also superior to placebo in cutting down body weight and a number of markers of visceral fat. These include waist circumference, index of central obesity (ICO), and visceral adiposity index, (VAI) which is an index of visceral fat based on body mass index.

Gwen Krivi, VP of development at Lilly Diabetes, said, “We look forward to following up on these findings regarding the effect of empagliflozin on markers of abdominal fat and on body weight with our large phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes trial.”

Diabetes is a chronic condition characterized by improper production or use of insulin. It affects an estimated 382 million around the world including 29 million in the U.S. alone, with Type 2 diabetes prevailing in the majority of cases.

Dr. Christophe Arbet-Engels, VP of metabolic clinical development and medical affairs at BIPI, said, “In addition to high blood sugar, adults with type 2 diabetes often struggle with comorbidities such as being overweight or obese. The new data presented at AHA support the need for further research into the possibility that Jardiance, which is used with diet and exercise to lower high blood sugar, may also modify abdominal fat and body weight.”