Vipidia diabetes drug launches in UK

A new medicine for treating type 2 diabetes was launched in the UK last week by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Japan’s largest drug manufacturer.
Vipidia (alogliptin) is now available in the UK, along with the fixed dose combination product Vipdomet (alogliptin and metformin), after being granted a product licence by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Aloglipti, which belongs to the DPP-4 inhibitors class of oral diabetes medications and is marketed under the brand name Nesina in the USA, is licensed for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes in combination with insulin and other glucose-lowering drugs, when these, together with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate blood glucose control.
The EMA licence approval was based on results of a clinical trial program, which tested the cardiovascular safety of Vipidia in thousands of type 2 diabetes patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease over a period of up to 40 months.
According to Takeda, the primary endpoint of the EXAMINE safety trial was met, with researchers demonstrating that Vipidia does not increase risk of major adverse cardiac events such as heart attack in high-risk diabetic patients.
Anthony Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Birmingham, and Honorary Consultant Physician at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, said: “The EXAMINE trial was important as it assessed CV safety outcomes in patients with very high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the type 2 diabetes patient population.
“Poorly controlled blood glucose continues to be a reality for many patients with Type 2 diabetes. Thus, given the demonstrated sustained glycemic control, the good evidence for cardiovascular safety means that Vipidia offers the NHS significant value, and should make an important contribution to our therapeutic armamentarium in the UK.”