Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim to evaluate diabetes drug for treatment of heart failure

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Boehringer Ingelheim have announced plans to conduct two outcome trials evaluating diabetes medicine Jardiance (empagliflozin) for the treatment of chronic heart failure.

Jardiance was the first diabetes treatment to demonstrate a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death in a dedicated CV outcomes trial. The new trials are targeted to begin within the next 12 months and are planned to enrol people with chronic heart failure both with and without diabetes.

In the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, Jardiance reduced CV death by 38% and also reduced the risk of hospitalisation for heart failure in people with type-2 diabetes who are at high risk of CV events. The FDA accepted the supplemental New Drug Application for Jardiance in this indication in January.

Professor Hans-Juergen Woerle, global VP of medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, says: “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.

Javed Butler, cardiologist at Stony Brook University Hospital, comments: “One in two people with heart failure die within five years of diagnosis, so there is currently a compelling need for an effective therapy to treat those suffering from this condition.”

Sean Murray