Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly receive EU approval for diabetes drug

Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly have announced that the European Commission has approved Jardiance, their collaboratively-developed new therapy for type 2 diabetes.

The sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor therapy has been approved as a means of improving glycaemic control in adults affected by type 2 diabetes.

A phase III clinical trial programme involving more than 13,000 patients demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the drug, with subjects benefiting from significant reductions in blood sugar levels, body weight and blood pressure.

Jardiance is the third product approved under the diabetes alliance between the two companies, which has been running since January 2011.

Professor Klaus Dugi, chief medical officer at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "We aim to bring the very latest therapy options to people living with type 2 diabetes and are delighted empagliflozin will become available in Europe."

The companies are also responsible for creating the approved diabetes therapy Trajenta and are currently seeking US approval for a new treatment option that combines the active ingredients of Trajenta and Jardiance in a single tablet.