FDA warns on SCLT2 inhibitor diabetes drugs

A US Food and Drug Administration safety review has resulted in adding warnings to the labels of a specific class of type 2 diabetes medicines called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors about the risks of too much acid in the blood and of serious urinary tract infections. Both conditions can result in hospitalization.

The FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication in May 2015 warning about the risk of ketoacidosis with SGLT2 inhibitors and alerting that the agency would continue to evaluate this safety issue (The Pharma Letter May 16). A review of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from March 2013 to May 2015 identified 73 cases of ketoacidosis in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes treated with SGLT2 inhibitors. Symptoms of ketoacidosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing.

The FDA also identified 19 cases of life-threatening blood infections (urosepsis) and kidney infections (pyelonephritis) that started as urinary tract infections with the SGLT2 inhibitors reported to FAERS from March 2013 through October 2014. All 19 patients were hospitalized, and a few required admission to an intensive care unit or dialysis in order to treat kidney failure.