Galvus effective in poorly-controlled Japanese patients

New clinical data presented at the 68th annual scientific sessions of the American Diabetes Association in San Francisco show that Swiss drug major Novartis' Galvus (vildagliptin) is effective and well tolerated in Japanese type 2 diabetes patients inadequately controlled by diet and exercise.

The number of people living with type 2 diabetes worldwide is estimated to be about 246 million. People living with type 2 diabetes have been increasing in Japan and today there are approximately 7 million patients with this condition. Data from a 380-patient study showed that Japanese people with an average baseline HbA1c level of 7.6% treated with Galvus 50mg twice-daily were twice as likely to achieve target blood sugar levels of less than or equal to 6.5% HbA1c, compared to those treated three-times daily with voglibose 0.2mg, a commonly used first-line therapy in Japan (51% versus 24%, respectively).

In the study, treatment with Galvus resulted in a 1.0% HbA1c reduction in blood sugar levels compared to a 0.4% HbA1c reduction with voglibose. In April, Novartis submitted an application for marketing approval in Japan.