Bristol-Myers Squibb's R&D pipeline boosted by diabetes drug dapagliflozin, say Zacks analysts

US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) R&D pipeline received a boost when its type 2 diabetes candidate, dapagliflozin, fared well in a late-stage multicenter, active-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, study (n=814), according to a report last Friday from Zacks Equity Research. The patients enrolled in the study were above 18 years of age and had responded unsatisfactorily to treatment by metformin alone.

Dapagliflozin, a once-daily pill, is being co-developed with AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) for treating patients suffering from type 2 diabetes which is characterized by the dysfunction of beta cells in the pancreas. This results in reduced insulin secretion thereby leading to elevated glucose levels.

Results from the 52 week study, presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD; The Pharma Letter September 26), revealed that a combination of dapagliflozin and metformin was as effective as the combination of glipizide and metformin in reducing blood sugar levels. Moreover, the combination therapy of dapagliflozin and metformin helped the patients lose weight as against the weight gain observed in patients treated with glipizide plus metformin.