Dapagliflozin, Global First-In-Class SGLT2 Inhibitor
that works independently of insulin
Beirut, 17 March 2016: Nearly four years after its adoption in Europe as a novel insulin-independent treatment1 for Type 2 Diabetes, having demonstrated a significant and sustained reduction in blood glucose (HbA1c) levels with the additional benefits of weight loss and blood pressure reduction2,3, Dapagliflozin is being introduced in Lebanon as a 10mg tablet to be taken once-daily anytime during the day regardless of meals.
“Many people in Lebanon who are living with Type 2 Diabetes are not reaching treatment goals, increasing their risk of developing complications, so there is a critical need for new treatments, especially considering recognized limitations of insulin-dependent therapies,” said Lebanese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Lipids President Dr. Mounzer Saleh.
Stemming from a molecule (Phlorizin) first isolated from the bark of the apple tree in 1835, the novel treatment had undergone a 177-year journey of discovery1-2 before its first global launch in 2012.
With the introduction in Lebanon of this most prescribed treatment in its class internationally, physicians now have a new option to help improve glycemic control that complements commonly used glucose-lowering medications all the way from metformin to insulin, with additional benefits of weight loss and blood pressure lowering in a once-daily oral tablet.1
“Global demand had led to worldwide supply pressures which delayed the treatment’s introduction in many countries,” said Suzan Shuman, Head of Marketing, Cardiovascular and Metabolic, Near East region, AstraZeneca. “We are now very happy to be able to bring it to Lebanon, the second country to launch it in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates, and can assure physicians nationwide that it will henceforth be readily available to meet the needs of any patients they recommend can benefit from it.”Dapagliflozin is a highly selective and reversible inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) that works independently of insulin to help remove excess glucose from the body in a unique mode of action. It is the first medicine in the new SGLT2 Inhibitor class to be launched globally for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes, a disease with high unmet medical needs.
The treatment works in the kidney by selectively inhibiting SGLT2, resulting in the excretion of excess glucose and its associated calories in the urine (around 2100 grams of glucose/month) and its associated calories (around 8400 kcal/month).1
Through the removal of excess glucose, the treatment helps reduce blood sugar levels, and has been shown in clinical studies to reduce weight and lower blood pressure, with an efficacy sustained over four years.4
With proven safety and a good tolerability profile,1 a 10mg tablet is given as a single daily dose with no need for dose adjustment based on age, gender, race, weight, mild renal impairment, or mild or moderate hepatic impairment. To learn more, patients need to communicate with their physicians who may prescribe Dapagliflozin on its own as a monotherapy to adults who are intolerant of metformin, or add it to a broad range of common treatments (metformin, SU, DPP4i and insulin), as it has a complementary mechanism of action and no known drug–drug interactions with other commonly prescribed Type 2 Diabetes treatments.1
Diabetes in Lebanon
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates the number of people living with diabetes in Lebanon to be 12.2% of adults between 20 and 79 years old, translating into 464,200 individuals in this age bracket.It is thought that up to 41.17% of them remain undiagnosed and are therefore untreated, which can potentially cause complications such as heart attacks, blindness, kidney failure and loss of limbs.