Janssen’s Invokana reduces cardiovascular risk in diabetes patients

This exploratory analysis from the CANVAS Program was featured as a late-breaking oral presentation at the American College of Cardiology’s 67th Annual Scientific Session (abstract #407-10) and was simultaneously published in Circulation.

University of Mississippi medicine chairman Dr Javed Butler said: “This new analysis from the CANVAS Program demonstrates that canagliflozin reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure.”

“These results add to the body of evidence suggesting that canagliflozin has clinical benefit in patients with type 2 diabetes who are also at risk for some of the major cardiovascular complications.”

The results showed canagliflozin was associated with a significant reduction in risk of CV death or HHF by 22 percent (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.91), fatal or hospitalized heart failure by 30 percent (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.89); and HHF alone by 33 percent (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.52 to 0.87). The benefit of reduced risk of CV death or HHF was 39 percent (HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.80) greater in patients with a prior history of heart failure, compared to the 13 percent (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.06) without heart failure, at baseline.

Rates of heart failure varied according to baseline characteristics, such as age, renal function and other disease history characteristics, but effects of canagliflozin on risk of CV death or HHF were mostly comparable across numerous subgroups.

In addition, the data confirmed that proportional effects of canagliflozin compared to placebo were comparable across a broad population of patients with T2D at high CV risk. Specifically, patients from the CANVAS Program included those with and without heart failure at baseline for major adverse CV events (MACE), CV death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, all-cause mortality, and serious decline in kidney function.

On October 2, 2017, Janssen submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking a new indication to reduce the risk of MACE based on the CANVAS Program.

“Hospitalization for heart failure and, even worse, cardiovascular death are on the minds of many doctors and patients who manage type 2 diabetes,” said Robert Cuddihy, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs, Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Janssen Research & Development, LLC.

“This new analysis from the landmark CANVAS Program helps reinforce important additional clinical benefits of canagliflozin."

The CANVAS Program is the longest, largest and broadest completed CV outcomes program of any sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor to date and was the first to assess the efficacy, safety, and durability of canagliflozin in more than 10,000 patients with T2D who had either a prior history of CV disease or at least two CV risk factors.

INVOKANA is a prescription medicine used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. INVOKANA® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or with diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in blood or urine). It is not known if INVOKANA® is safe and effective in children under 18 years of age.