Diabetes Drug Empagliflozin Now Indicated to Reduce CV Mortality Risk

By the Editors

Empagliflozin (marketed as Jardiance) is now indicated to reduce the risk for cardiovascular death, the FDA announced on Friday.

The new indication for empagliflozin, a sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, is for patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The drug was first approved in 2014 to help improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.

A randomized trial published last year found that after nearly 3 years of treatment, patients in the empagliflozin group had a lower rate of cardiovascular death than did the placebo group (3.7% vs. 5.9%).

Side effects include urinary tract infections, female genital infections, and ketoacidosis.