AZ's Farxiga reduces major adverse cardiovascular event risk in type 2 diabetes, new data shows

AstraZeneca has lifted the curtain on new Phase 3 data for its sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor Farxiga (dapagliflozin), reinforcing the drug’s efficacy in reducing the relative risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D) who had a prior heart attack.

Findings from a pre-specified sub-analysis indicated that the therapy reduced the risk of MACE by 16% compared to placebo, and also reduced the relative risk of hospitalisation for heart failure (hHF) in T2D patients regardless of their ejection fraction (EF) status, a measurement of the percentage of blood leaving the heart with each contraction.

The results support data released in November 2018, where Farxiga was shown to have “significantly reduced the risk of the composite of hHF or CV death compared to placebo, consistently across the trial’s entire patient population.”

“Data from these pre-specified sub-analyses offer important and clinically-relevant insights for cardiologists and their patients,” explained Dr Stephen Wiviott of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, a senior investigator with the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) study group and co-principal investigator of the trial. “We now have new evidence from DECLARE-TIMI 58 that shows Farxiga consistently reduced hospitalisation for heart failure across a broad range of patients with type-2 diabetes, regardless of their history of existing CV disease, including heart attack, or heart failure.”

Elisabeth Björk, Senior Vice President, Head of late Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, R&D BioPharmaceuticals, also remarked: “These data build upon the existing evidence of the cardio-renal effects of Farxiga, with important new evidence on heart failure and MACE. Heart failure is one of the most common early cardiovascular complications of type-2 diabetes. Despite advances in healthcare, it remains as life-threatening and prevalent as the combined incidence of the top-four most common forms of cancer. Therefore, more needs to be done for patients.”

Matt Fellows