New oral medication for diabetes management

PHARMACEUTICAL company AstraZeneca has announced the launch of its new once-daily oral medication to aid Filipino adult patients with type 2 diabetes manage their condition better through the removal of excess glucose and its associated calories in the urine.

Diabetes is a chronic progressive disease that is complex to manage. Most of the Filipino patients with diabetes are struggling to control their blood sugar levels, as well as its co-morbidities such as weight, blood pressure and blood cholesterol. In fact, in 85 percent of Filipino patients with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar remains uncontrolled.

Apart from poor blood glucose control, it has been reported that Asian patients develop the disease at a younger age, making them at a higher risk of developing long-term complications resulting in higher rates of morbidity and early mortality.

“The westernized Filipino diet and sedentary lifestyle contribute to the increasing prevalence of type-2 diabetes in the Philippines,” says Dr. Araceli A. Panelo, board chair of the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation Inc. (ISDFI) and professor at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC). “With increased intake of high caloric and fatty foods and lack of time to exercise, Filipino patients struggle to manage the disease.”

As a result of the difficulty to change Filipino’s food consumption and attitude toward physical activity, weight management then becomes an issue. In the country, it has been reported that 7 out of 10 adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight and obese.

“There is a growing trend of ‘Diabesity’ among Filipino patients with type-2 diabetes. Based on a study, five out of seven patients who are overweight have abdominal obesity. This high visceral fat leads to more complications,” says Dr. Roberto C. Mirasol, former president of Philippine Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (PSEDM) and ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies (AFES). “Despite the availability of various treatments in the market today, diabetes continues to increase hence there is still an unmet need.”

Medical breakthrough

Recognizing the difficulties being experienced by adult patients with type 2 diabetes, pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, has developed a new oral medication that will aid Filipinos with diabetes manage their situation better.

“With patients continually struggling to manage diabetes despite available treatments, our commitment in AstraZeneca is to discover and develop innovative medicines that will address the unmet needs of these patients,” says Dr. Chinnie Tan-Pineda, Medical and Regulatory Affairs director of AstraZeneca Philippines.

The oral medication, Dapagliflozin, developed by AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, is a selective and reversible inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) that works independently of insulin to help flush out surplus sugar, thus reducing blood sugar levels.

The breakthrough in the product lies in its ability to lower blood glucose levels by filtering glucose out from the body through urine, removing accompanying calories as well.

“This novel drug works in the kidneys. Instead of the kidney being the victim of diabetes, the kidney can now be seen as a therapeutic target,” shares Prof. Merlin Thomas, physician scientist at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Novel drug

The unique mode of action the new drug offers is the first of its kind and not seen among current available treatments for type 2 diabetes. This is the first medicine in the new SGLT2 class to gain regulatory approval in the world, granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Dapagliflozin has been subsequently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is also approved in 40 countries including Australia.

The novel drug is to be used as a supplement to diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control alone, or in combinations with other oral glucose-lowering medicinal products, such as metformin as well as insulin.

“The Dapagliflozin of AstraZeneca is one of the few drugs that offer an important new complementary action to help patients with type 2 diabetes. With this novel drug, Filipinos will be able to control their sugar level better, manage their weight, and also reduce their blood pressure,” says Prof. Stephan Matthaei, director of the Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology Center, Quakenbrück Hospital, Quakenbrück, Germany.

The breakthrough is just the first step in addressing the growing silent epidemic in the country. AstraZeneca continues to research and innovate to provide better treatment options for healthcare professionals and their patients.

For more information, visit www.astrazeneca.com