Diabetes Drug Cuts Cardiovascular Deaths by 38%? Dream On!
In the New York Times (Friday, September 18. 2015), a large-font headline proclaimed, “Jardiance, a Diabetes Drug, Cut Cardiovascular Deaths by 38%, Study Says.” The accompanying article goes on to state, “For the first time, a widely used modern diabetes drug has been shown to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease, a long-sought goal of treatment, researchers announced on Thursday. In a clinical trial, the drug—Jardiance, sold jointly by Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim–reduced the overall risk of {dying from cardiovascular complications by 38 percent}.” The article continued with the usual platitudes about how this was a “…landmark result”. Analysts estimated that, due in large part to this study, Jardiance sales will reach $2.7 billion in 2020. For over 30 years, drug companies have been trying to show that treating diabetes with diabetic drugs will lower the risk for cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, oral diabetic drugs have never been shown to have cardiovascular benefits. In fact there are many studies, some dating back decades ago, that the use of oral diabetic drugs increases the risk of cardiovascular complications and death. Therefore, if this study holds up, Big Pharma could have a pot of gold on their hands. So, does this study really lower cardiovascular deaths by 38%?
