Janssen receives EU approval for new type 2 diabetes therapy

Janssen has been granted European regulatory approval for a new combination therapy for type 2 diabetes, which will be sold under the brand name Vokanamet.

The fixed-dose therapy combines canagliflozin and immediate-release metformin hydrochloride in a single tablet and is intended to help improve glycaemic control among adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A comprehensive global phase III clinical development programme for the drug has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the new therapy among diabetes patients, while it has also been shown to offer value and convenience benefits.

Canagliflozin as a single agent has been approved and sold under the name Invokana in the EU since November 2013. It belongs to a new class of medications called sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors.

Jane Griffiths, chairman of Janssen's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, said: "This approval further reinforces Janssen's ongoing commitment to provide new therapeutic options that help to address unmet needs in the treatment of type 2 diabetes."