Pharmaceutical Manufacturing has reported on the results from an in-depth study into Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Jardiance. The study has examined the effectiveness of the drug as a treatment for heart attacks and stroke. The outcome is effective, meaning that Jardiance is the first ever blood-sugar lowering drug clinically shown to lower the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths.
These findings are based on a 7,000 patient study. Each of the study participants had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; people with this condition are medically considered at high risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Other drug companies who make similar products have also been trying to demonstrate similar protective effects. These include alternate diabetes drugs, including Merck’s Januvia and AstraZeneca’s Onglyza. However, these products have, to date, not been able to show similar medical effects. Both Januvia and Onglyza are a type of medicinal drug product termed a DPP-4. In contrast, Jardiance is an SGLT-2 inhibitor.
Jardiance is co-marketed between Eli Lilly another pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim. According to Forbes, the outcome will be good for Eli Lilly’s global market share. The outcome is likely to be that Jardiance will become the oral drug of choice behind market leader metformin. Metformin is an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels.
