On November 2nd the Globe and Mail had a special section on diabetes. I hadn’t bothered reading it until a few days ago and there some very interesting information.

I’m not sure if the drug empagliflozin has been discussed on this forum. If so I missed it.

I will be very interested in the perspective of scientific posters on this. At face value it appears that empagliflozin has achieved a 38% MACE reduction in patients with diabetes and CVD based on a 3-year trial of 7,000 patients. It has a very good safety profile. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It has been approved for use in Canada.

I Goggled empagliflozin and saw that the absolute risk of MACE in the control group was 5.9% vs. the empagliflozin treated group at 3.7% which leads to a statistically significant relative risk reduction of 38%. These numbers are far lower than the combined ASSURE/SUSTAIN trial where within the sub set with DM and CVD the absolute risk of MACE was 21% in the control group and roughly 6% in the rvx-208 treated group leading to a relative risk reduction of 77% and this was at 210 days (vs. 3 years).

So, on the surface, it appears that empagliflozin has beaten rvx-208 to market by 8 years. I sure hope I am missing something here because I was under the impression that rvx-208 had no competitors.

Obviously all of these comparisons require in depth analysis by scientific and medical people but it sure looks like empagliflozin achieved the BETonMACE objectives and is approved for sale in Canada.

Of course rvx-208 modulates HDL and also inflammation, complement activation, coagulation and glycemic control via BET inhibition and I have no idea if empagliflozin does any of this.

Please go online and source the featured articles.

• Source – The Globe and Mail, Monday, November 2nd, 2015
• globeandmail.com/adv/diabetes2015

First Article

Page – CDA 9

Treatment

Managing cardiovascular disease risk a critical part of diabetes treatment and care.

Column 5

Given the links between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, researchers have long pursued the goal of developing a diabetes medication that also reduces CV disease risks. According to Dr Woo, a study released in September, 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine has produced “very encouraging” results on that front.

“This randomized clinical trial involved more than 7,000 patients with established diabetes plus established heart disease. Some received the medication empagliflozin and others received a placebo,” Dr. Woo says.

“Compared with those on the placebo, patients who took empagliflozin were 38 per cent less likely to die as a result of a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular problem over the period of the trial, almost 3 years. They were also 35% less likely to be hospitalized for heart failure and 32% less likely to die of any cause. The results are very significant.”

The study also demonstrated the medication’s safety, with few side effects reported. Health Canada has recently approved empagliflozin for use in Canada and Dr. Woo says, “Physicians should strongly consider adding it to the diabetes medication regimen of patients with cardio vascular disease.”

Second Article

Page – CDA 7 – at the bottom

Title - New collaboration lays groundwork for personalized treatment of diabetes, heart disease

“Heart disease and stroke are the leading the leading cause of death for people with type 2 diabetes. A new collaboration between AstraZeneca and the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) will advance our understanding of the biological mechanisms that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease by identifying the genes responsible for these conditions – ultimately offering promise of personalized treatment options tailored to a patients genetic profile.

In one of the largest initiatives of it’s type to date, the MHI will search for the genomes of up to 80,000 patients for genes associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes, their complications and treatment outcomes. DNA sample will be taken from AstraZenica’s extensive biobank that have been collected over a 12 year period under informed consent from patients who have entered clinical trials to test cardiovascular or diabetes treatments.

Etc.”

I'm very interested in the scientific perspective on this.

GLTA

Toinv

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