J&J’s type 2 diabetes drug INVOKANA significantly reduces major heart complications in CANVAS progra

Results from the landmark CANVAS Program showed INVOKANA (canagliflozin) significantly reduced the combined risk of cardiovascular (CV) death, myocardial infarction (MI), and nonfatal stroke, versus placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at risk for or with a history of CV disease. The results also showed canagliflozin treatment was associated with a reduced risk for hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) and demonstrated potential renal protective effects. These data from the integrated analysis of the CANVAS and CANVAS-R trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and presented in a special symposium at the American Diabetes Association 77th Scientific Sessions in San Diego.

Canagliflozin was studied in the longest, largest and broadest completed CV outcomes program of any sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. The CANVAS Program is the first program to assess the efficacy, safety, and durability of canagliflozin in more than 10,000 patients with T2DM, who had either a prior history of CV disease, or at least two CV risk factors.

Canagliflozin achieved a 14% reduction in the risk of the composite primary endpoint of CV mortality, nonfatal MI or nonfatal stroke (HR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.75 to 0.97), and demonstrated the CV safety of canagliflozin (p<0.0001 for non-inferiority) and superiority compared to placebo (p=0.0158).

"The CANVAS results are important because they show clear benefit of canagliflozin over current standard-of-care treatments," said Bruce Neal, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., principal investigator of the CANVAS and CANVAS-R trials, Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales Sydney, and Senior Director, The George Institute for Global Health. "Furthermore, the CANVAS Program showed consistent reductions across all components of the primary study outcome – CV death, MI and stroke – indicating efficacy of canagliflozin for all the main CV risks likely to affect patients with diabetes."