Diabetes News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Farxiga (dapaglifozin) tablets to improve glycemic control, along with diet and exercise, in adults with type 2 diabetes (FDA)

Significant changes in HbA1c, body weight, and FPG attained with ITCA 650 were maintained to 48 weeks. The incidence of AEs was lower in the 24-week extension than in the initial 24-week treatment phase (Diabetes and Its Complications)

Alogliptin plus metformin initial combination therapy was well tolerated yet more efficacious in controlling glycemia in drug-naïve T2DM patients than either as monotherapy (Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism)

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced that it has decided voluntarily to terminate the development activities for fasiglifam (TAK-875), an investigational treatment for type 2 diabetes, due to concerns about liver safety (Takeda)

Among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and stage 4 chronic kidney disease, bardoxolone methyl did not reduce the risk of ESRD or death from cardiovascular causes. A higher rate of cardiovascular events with bardoxolone methyl than with placebo prompted termination of the trial (New England Journal of Medicine)

Discontinuation (or switching) of OADs at the time of insulin initiation appears to be governed principally by concerns about hypoglycaemia and weight. HbA1c improvements were smaller in patients discontinuing OADs at the time of insulin initiation and may be associated with insufficient insulin titration (Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics)

Saxagliptin (Onglyza®) is recommended as an option for use within NHS Wales for the treatment of adult patients aged 18 years and older with type 2 diabetes mellitus to improve glycaemic control as triple oral therapy in combination with metformin plus a sulphonylurea when this regimen alone, with diet and exercise, does not provide adequate glycaemic control (All Wales Medicines Strategy Group)

A US Food and Drug Advisory (FDA) panel has voted 10 to 1 in favor of approval for AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s diabetes drug dapagliflozin (Medscape)

In patients with T2DM, GIP counteracts insulin-induced hypoglycemia – most likely through a predominant glucagonotropic effect. In contrast, during hyperglycemia, GIP increases glucose disposal through a predominant effect on insulin release (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)

The results of a 24-week Phase IIIb clinical study showed that lixisenatide met the primary endpoint of non-inferiority in blood sugar lowering (HbA1c) when administered either before breakfast or the main meal of the day. These results indicate that lixisenatide can effectively lower blood sugar at either time of administration (Sanofi)

Co-stimulation modulation with abatacept slowed decline of beta-cell function and improved HbA1c in recent-onset T1DM. The beneficial effect was sustained for at least one year after cessation of abatacept infusions, or three years from T1DM diagnosis (Diabetes Care)

We are encouraged by these results which suggest that U300 could be a viable treatment option for a wide range of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (Sanofi)

In this cohort of diabetic patients with a substantial incretin effect, GLP-1 contributed about 50% to the insulin excursion after an OGT both with and without DPP-4 inhibition. Thus, a significant DPP-4 sensitive glucose lowering mechanism contributes to glycemic control in diabetic patients that may be not mediated by circulating GLP-1 (Diabetes)

In this manuscript we review canagliflozin and its potential role in management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Drug Design, Development and Therapy)

Results from the Rosiglitazone Evaluated for Cardiovascular Outcomes and Regulation of Glycemia in Diabetes (RECORD) clinical trial showed no elevated risk of heart attack or death in patients being treated with Avandia when compared to standard-of-care diabetes drugs (FDA)

Once-weekly SYR-472 treatment produced clinically and statistically significant improvements in glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. It was well tolerated and might be a new treatment option for patients with this disease (The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology)

Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) announced today that the European Commission (EC) has approved INVOKANA™ (canagliflozin) in the European Union for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus, to improve glycaemic control[1]. Canagliflozin is an oral, once-daily medication, which belongs to a new class of medications called sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (BioSpace)

This study suggests that rosiglitazone use in patients with type 2 diabetes may reduce the risk of thyroid cancer (Annals of Medicine)

These data indicate that the pancreatic findings attributed to incretins are common background findings, observed without drug treatment and independent of diet or glycemic status, suggesting a need to exercise caution when interpreting the relevance of some recent reports to human safety (Diabetes)

These results indicate that statin therapy increases plasma vaspin levels in addition to having a lipid-lowering effect. This could be a mechanism underlying the pleiotropic effects seen with statins, including their cardioprotective and antiatherosclerotic effects (Clinical Pharmacology: Advances and Applications)