AstraZeneca’s diabetes medicine approved for heart failure treatment
THE local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved AstraZeneca’s medicine for diabetes as treatment for heart failure in adult patients. In a statement on Monday, AstraZeneca said its drug Dapagliflozin is “proven to significantly prevent cardiovascular death and death due to other causes in these heart failure patients.” The approval was based on the trial of Dapagliflozin and Prevention of Adverse-outcomes in Heart Failure Trial, which investigated a medicine for type 2 diabetes as treatment for heart failure in adult patients with reduced ejection fraction, or what is referred to locally as pumapalyang puso, with and without type-2 diabetes.
TRIAL RESULTS
Results of the trial showed a reduction of 26% in the occurrence of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure and urgent hospital visit for heart failure (HF) along with a 30% reduction in hospitalization for heart failure, AstraZeneca said. The study also showed Dapagliflozin’s significant 18% reduction in cardiovascular death and 17% reduction in death due to other causes, it said. “Dapagliflozin has the potential to become a long-awaited addition in the standard of care for this patient population. This is a testament of the company’s commitment in pushing what science can do to address unmet needs in healthcare,” AstraZeneca Philippines Country President Lotis Ramin said in the statement. May Donato-Tan, president of the Heart Failure Society of the Philippines (HFSP), said the approval is “a welcome strong addition in the field of heart failure” as it allows patients to prevent hospitalizations and death from other cardiovascular diseases. The company noted that heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the country with 74,134 reported cases in 2016, citing a study by National University Health Center. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas