Astrazeneca global study reveals diabetes medication significantly cuts death rates
Astrazeneca has hailed the success of its new Type 2 diabetes drugs, after a study of more than 300,000 people revealed it significantly cut the risk of death or heart failure.
The FTSE 100 firm today announced the results of the first large real-world evidence study of its kind. The focus was whether the medication, called SGLT-2 inhibitors, reduced the chance of suffering a heart attack and dying as a result.
Read more: Circassia's share price jumped by a massive 30 per cent this morning
Around 87 per cent of the study participants, which came from across six countries, did not have a history of cardiovascular disease.
The analysis found the rate of hospitalisation as a result of using the drugs fell by 39 per cent and death from any case fell by 51 per cent.
Diabetes affects around 415m adults globally and is estimated to rise to 642m by 2040, around one in 10 adults.
Read more: AstraZeneca turns to tech startup to capture health data treasure trove
People with Type 2 diabetes have a two to three times greater risk of heart failure and more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Around 50 per cent of deaths in people with Type 2 diabetes are caused by cardiovascular disease.
Bruce Cooper, the head of global medical affairs at AstraZeneca said Diabetes is growing worldwide and oftens leads to one or more additional diseases occurring at the same time that “contribute to an increased risk of costly hospitalisations and even death”.