Real world analysis of Invokana in type 2 diabetes published

A new real-world analysis of adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease (CVD) shows adult patients who initiated therapy with Invokana (canagliflozin), from Janssen Pharma, or another sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) had a 43 percent reduced risk for all-cause mortality (ACM) and hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) after an average of 1.6 years, compared to similar patients who initiated treatment with a non-SGLT2i medication using an intent-to-treat (ITT) approach.

The population-based EASEL study included two cohorts: 12,629 new users of a SGLT2i and 12,629 new users of a non-SGLT2i diabetes medication, both on top of standard-of-care therapy. Additionally, patients who initiated SGLT2i therapy had a 33 percent reduced risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including ACM, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI) and non-fatal stroke. Several other CVD-related events were also assessed as secondary endpoints.

The ITT analysis showed that the SGLT2i cohort had statistically significant reductions in the incidence of multiple endpoints compared to the non-SGLT2i cohort, respectively, including a 43 percent reduction in the composite outcome of ACM and HHF (primary endpoint): 1.73 vs. 3.01 events per 100 person-years; a 43 percent reduction in ACM (secondary endpoint): 1.29 vs. 2.26 events per 100 person-years; and a 43 percent reduction in HHF (secondary endpoint): 0.51 vs. 0.90 events per 100 person-years. This new retrospective analysis from the EASEL (Evidence for cArdiovascular outcomes with Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors in the rEal worLd) study is based on data from the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System and was published in Circulation.

See: "Cardiovascular Outcomes and Risks After Initiation of a Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitor: Results From the EASEL Population-Based Cohort Study." Jacob A. Udell et al. Circulation, published November 13, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.031227