Takeda’s new diabetes drugs accepted for EMA review

Takeda has announced that two new combination diabetes therapies it has developed have been accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The regulator has ratified the company's marketing authorisation applications for new single-tablet therapy options that combine alogliptin with pioglitazone or metformin.

Both the alogliptin plus pioglitazone and alogliptin plus metformin treatments have been evaluated in phase III clinical trials, delivering significant improvements in glycaemic control.

Takeda's aim is to make these products available as soon as possible to European patients who may benefit from the right treatment combination.

Dr Stuart Dollow, managing director at Takeda's global research and development centre, said: "If approved, these two new therapies both offer the benefit of combining two medications in one, which may reduce the number of pills patients must take each day."

Last month, the company reported positive data from a clinical study of vedolizumab, a promising new treatment it is developing against moderate to severely active Crohn's disease.