New type 2 diabetes drug from Janssen submitted for European Approval

A new oral therapy for people with type 2 diabetes could soon be available in the UK after Jansse, the European subsidiary of Johnson and Johnso, submitted its investigational type 2 diabetes medication, canagliflozi, to European regulators for approval.
The drug is part of a new class of diabetes medicines called sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, which work by blocking the reabsorption of glucose by the kidney to increase glucose excretion and reduce blood glucose levels .
Earlier this week, Janssen submitted a Marketing Authorisation Application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the once-daily drug treatment, which was backed by data from the global phase III clinical trial programme – one of the largest randomised clinical studies in the field of type 2 diabetes .
Results from some of the phase III studies, presented by Janssen at a American Diabetes Association meeting earlier this month, demonstrated substantial and sustained glycemic improvements and showed canagliflozin’s potential as a monotherapy, compared to the current standard treatments of Januvia and Amaryl (glimepiride).
If approved by the EMA, canagliflozin will go up against Forxiga (dapagliflozin), a rival SGLT2 from AstraZeneca/Bristol-Myers Squibbs which is expected to receive full European approval before the end of next month.