AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (AZN), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (GSK): Diabetes Drugmakers and Their “Definitely Maybe” Moment

Rather than working through the liver or pancreas as previous diabetes medications have, SGLT-2 inhibitors work in the kidneys and block glucose absorption, allowing the user to flush out excess glucose through their urine. Furthermore, SGLT-2 inhibitors helped induce weight loss in patients on top of improving their glycemic balance.

Of course, this isn’t going to be a safety cakewalk for SGLT-2 inhibitors, either. The original reason why Forxiga was issued a complete response letter in the U.S. was because of elevated risks of bladder and breast cancer associated with the drug. Needless to say, overcoming the FDA’s objections with concrete safety data won’t be easy.

Where does this leave us?

Following this data, I would feel fairly comfortable assuming that DPP-4 inhibitors are unlikely to see any expanded indications any time soon. If anything, these initial two studies seem to have typecast type 2 diabetes drugs solely as glycemic balance solutions and removed much of the hope that they reduced long-term cardiovascular event risk.

On the flip side, it provides a decent glimmer of hope for SGLT-2 inhibitors that they can step in with a more favorable safety profile and provide a differentiable drop in cardiovascular death risk. As we saw with Onglyza, it could be years before we have any large study data available that really delves into the long-term safety profile of SGLT-2 inhibitors, but for now they’re looking like a clear candidate to push DPP-4 inhibitors slowly out of the picture.

The article Diabetes Drugmakers and Their “Definitely Maybe” Moment originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.

Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of, and recommends Johnson & Johnson.

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