SGLT2 Inhibitors a Promising New Therapy for Type II Diabetes

SGLT2 Inhibitors, which block the reabsorption of glucose in the kidneys, have had positive clinical results and have attracted the attention of top pharmaceutical companies. While no SGLT2 inhibitor is currently FDA-approved, this class is expected to generate more than $500 million in revenue by 2011.

The race for first-in-class status is currently being led by dapagliflozin, which is in multiple Phase III trials in combination with other therapies including metformin and glimeprimide. This drug, which was discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb but licensed to AstraZeneca in a deal worth up to $1.35 billion, is projected to generate more than $500 million in annual sales by 2014. AVE2268 and remogliflozin, two other SGLT2s, are both in Phase II trials. Analysts have recently pushed expected launch dates to late 2011 or 2012, but these drugs should also yield hundreds of millions of dollars in sales within their first few years on the market.

Despite an anticipated second- or third-in-class launch status, AVE2268 sales are likely to be strong. Sanofi-Aventis will leverage its strong field sales organization and commercialization experience to launch the product if and when it gains FDA approval.

"When three companies of this magnitude are all sponsoring late-stage studies for products in an unapproved drug class, you know the science is quite strong," said Jeremy Spivey, the report's lead author. "By the end of the next decade, this class may be neck-and-neck with the more established DPP-IV and GLP-1 classes in diabetes treatment."

A complimentary report brochure is available for download at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/Diabetes/index.htm#body.