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China approves AstraZeneca’s heart failure drug Forxiga

pharmafile | February 4, 2021 | News story | |  AstraZeneca, Forxiga 

AstraZeneca’s Forxiga (dapagliflozin) has been approved for use in China to reduce the risk of death and hospitalisation from heart failure in the country.

The treatment, which is already approved in Europe, the US, and several other countries, has been passed by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) based on positive results from the DAPA-HF Phase III trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The DAPA-HF Phase III trial showed that Forxiga, in addition to extra care, could reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or worsening effects of heart failure by 26%, compared with a placebo.

Junbo Ge, Professor, Director, and Doctoral Advisor at Zhongshan Hospital, and an investigator in the trial, said: “The mortality rate of cardiovascular disease far exceeds that of cancer and other diseases, making it a leading cause of death in China.”

Mene Pangalos, Executive VP of BioPharmaceuticals R&D, also commented: “There is no known cure for chronic heart failure except for heart transplantation, which is why there is an urgent need for new treatment options that can improve symptoms and help patients live longer.

“This approval marks another important step forward in our ambition to improve outcomes for millions of people worldwide living with this life-threatening disease.”

Jack Goddard

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