Diabetes Drug “Jardiance” Cuts Cardiovascular Deaths
Cardiovascular deaths are reduced by 38% among Jardiance users, new study published by The New England Journal of Medicine shows
Jardiance, a modern diabetes drug sold by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, has been shown to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease by 38%, researchers announced on Thursday at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm.
The results are a success, as “there are very few therapies we have in cardiovascular medicine that have ever shown a one-third reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death,” declared Dr. Steven E. Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
When it comes to heart attack, the results were not significant. Heart failure death, on the other hand, was reduced among trial participants.
Due to study results, pharmaceutical analysts estimate Jardiance sales in 2020 at $2.7 billion. Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical Company shares increased 7% after the announcement.
The study assessed 7,000 patience suffering from Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with a high risk of heart attacks and strokes, who were randomly given either Jardiance or a placebo.
Three years later, when reassessed, there was a 14% reduction in risk for heart attack. Summing up the cardiovascular deaths, there was a risk reduction of 38%. Also, the researchers noted a 32% risk reduction for death of all causes and a 35% risk reduction for heart failure. Scientists belief that this figures come out from Jardiance’s ability to decrease blood pressure, weight and increase arterial elasticity. The drug is associated though with several side effects like increased urinary tract and genital infections.
Nevertheless, Jardiance treatment costs about $350 a month and clinical trials are very expensive, which attracted critics from the scientific world to say that pharmaceutical companies “have an intrinsic motive for pursuing such studies, and they will occur on their own without F.D.A. mandate.”.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/business/jardiance-a-diabetes-drug-is-shown-to-reduce-cardiovascular-deaths.html?ref=health&_r=0
