A diabetes drug may also help people with kidney disease by reducing the risk of experiencing kidney failure.
The drug, Invokana (canagliflozin), is known as an SGLT2 inhibitor. In a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease taking Invokana and either an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) saw a 30% drop in kidney failure rates compared with those taking an ACE inhibitor or ARB alone. ACE inhibitors and ARBs are considered standard care for kidney disease.
Results also showed Invokana reduced heart failure by over 30%, and significant cardiovascular events by 20%. Hospitalization due to heart failure was also reduced by nearly 40%.
The study, dubbed CREDENCE, enrolled 4,400 patients from 34 countries. There was no increased risk of side effects seen in the Invokana group.
CREDENCE was sponsored by Janssen, the manufacturer of Invokana. The drug has a boxed warning about a risk of lower limb amputation.
