Research presented today showed that the investigational drug, LAF237, the first in a new class, improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. In this study, LAF237, which is administered as a tablet to be taken orally, was added to the standard diabetes treatment metformin in patients whose diabetes was not adequately controlled by metformin alone.
Presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American Diabetes Association, the study demonstrated that the glucose reductions from the combined therapy were sustained for one year with LAF237. "These phase II findings underscore the exciting promise of LAF237 and the role of DPP-4 inhibition," said Malcolm MacNab, M.D., vice president, Cardiovascular and Metabolism. "It opens a whole new way to look at controlling type 2 diabetes at a time when the disease is reaching worldwide epidemic proportions. We are pleased that phase III trials have been initiated to further explore the potential of this novel and orally administered compound." Exploring new diabetes treatments like LAF237 is critically important, especially given that the World Health Organization projects the number of people with diabetes will double to 366 million by 2030. Last year alone, more than 3.2 million deaths were attributed to diabetes or diabetes-related causes.
Novartis is leading the way in the development of this new class of oral anti-diabetes agents called DPP-4 inhibitors. Researchers studying LAF237 hope to show that the therapy will help address the underlying imbalance between insulin and glucose production that is the cause of type 2 diabetes. LAF237 works by increasing the levels of a specialized incretin hormone called GLP-1 by blocking the action of DPP-4, an enzyme that normally inactivates GLP-1. GLP-1 is secreted from the intestine in response to food, and it stimulates insulin production by the beta cells of the pancreas. GLP-1 also reduces the secretion of glucagon, another hormone that signals the liver to produce glucose.