Takeda’s Actos ‘reduces heart attack risk in diabetes patients’

New study results published by Takeda at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes have revealed that its diabetes drug, Actos, has benefits other than controlling blood sugar levels.

Specifically, diabetic patients using Actos during clinical trials showed a “significant” reduction in the risk of suffering heart attack – 23 per cent lower than those using the placebo.

In addition, the combined risk of cardiovascular death, including events such as a nonfatal heart attack or stroke, was cut by 18 per cent for Actos users, while the risk of death from any cause was reduced by 17 per cent.

Takeda, Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, says that the results are important because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes, estimated to account for between 50 and 80 per cent of all diabetic deaths.

Erland Erdmann, chairman of the PROactive executive committee and director for the clinic III for internal medicine at the University of Cologne, remarked: “We are continuing to see the benefits of Actos beyond glycemic control.”

“The data presented … showed that Actos can have a positive effect on several measures of cardiovascular disease outcomes in high-risk patients with type two diabetes,” he added.

Takeda claims to have discovered the class of thiazolidinediones, which target insulin resistance mechanisms in the body. Like Actos, GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia is an example of a thiazolidinedione.