Boehringer and Lilly report positive results from two Phase III trials of diabetes drug empagliflozin

Data from two clinical trials was presented at the American Diabetes Association 74th Scientific Sessions.

In the two-year trial, empagliflozin in combination with certain other diabetes therapies showed reductions in blood glucose, body weight and blood pressure compared with glimepiride, when both were added-on to metformin in adults with T2D.

In a second, 52-week trial of obese adults with T2D on high insulin doses with or without metformin, adding empagliflozin to multiple daily insulin injections significantly reduced blood glucose and body weight with lower insulin doses compared with placebo.

Boehringer Ingelheim chief medical officer Klaus Dugi said the progressive nature of Type 2 Diabetes often means that more than one medication is needed to manage blood glucose levels.

"The encouraging results from these trials show that empagliflozin taken in combination with either metformin, or with multiple daily injections of insulin, reduced blood glucose levels and body weight in adults with Type 2 Diabetes," Dugi said.

A total of 1,545 adults with T2D were enrolled in the trial, which compared the efficacy and safety profiles of empagliflozin 25mg with glimepiride (1-4 mg), each in combination with metformin.

The company said that after two years, patients taking empagliflozin had significantly greater reductions in HbA1c (average blood glucose over the past two to three months), body weight and blood pressure compared with patients taking glimepiride.

Image: Boehringer Ingelheim Center corporate headquarters building in Germany. Photo: Courtesy of Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH