Diabetes is a major health concern, with type 2 accounting for between 85 and 95% of all people with the disease. Type 2 diabetes, then, affects wellness in a big way, but a new pill looks set to change all that. The breakthrough treatment works to slash blood sugar levels and offers hope to the wellbeing millions of diabetes sufferers. And, if you’re thinking we’re talking about a “promising study” or “preliminary finding”, think again: the pill has now been launched in the UK.
According to wellness writer Jo Willey, ‘The breakthrough treatment is being unveiled at the same time that the drug watchdog has recommended it for use on the NHS. Experts say the drug, canagliflozin, which is taken once a day, is a vital new weapon in the battle against the Type 2 diabetes epidemic and its devastating complications. It reduces blood sugar levels in people for whom diet and lifestyle measures or other blood sugar-lowering medicines do not work well enough, say the manufacturers Janssen. The drug, also called Invokana, blocks the re-absorption of glucose in the kidneys, which is instead passed in the urine.’
Professor Anthony Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Birmingham, commented, ‘We are seeing a growing number of people with Type 2 diabetes which can have the extremely serious consequences of heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and amputations. Canagliflozin, which can offer patients significant reductions in blood sugar levels whilst not increasing risks of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugars), represents an important new option in the management of a major UK epidemic.’ The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has given the pill a preliminary positive recommendation, and so the medication could be available within months.
In the Nice draft guidance, canagliflozin was said to be “useful” and recommended for use by some NHS patients with Type 2 diabetes when used in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs. Professor Carole Longson, of Nice, pointed out that ‘Type 2 diabetes can be difficult to treat and most people will eventually require a number of drugs, often used simultaneously. Canagliflozin represents a useful addition to the armoury of anti-diabetic drugs available. Nice is pleased to be able to recommend its use for some people with Type 2 diabetes.’ Dr Peter Barnes, the medical director at Janssen UK, added, ‘With the relentless increase in Type 2 diabetes, there is an ongoing need for additional treatment options. Not only does canagliflozin provide a new once-a-day oral treatment to help control blood glucose levels, it offers real value to the NHS.’
When your wellbeing is affected by type 2 diabetes, this means that your sugar – glucose – levels in your blood have become too high. The chronic disease is associated with 24,000 excess deaths each year, mainly from cardiovascular disease. In the UK, 3.2 million people are diagnosed with diabetes, and type 2 accounts for between 85 and 95% of all people with the disease. Your body develops type 2 diabetes when it can no longer produce insulin, or when the insulin that your body does produced does not work properly.
Typically, type 2 diabetes is treated with a healthy diet, increased physical activity and medication, but this doesn’t always prove effective. The National Diabetes Audit found that more than one in three patients with Type 2 diabetes in England and Wales are currently failing to achieve recommended blood glucose levels. Simon O’Neill of Diabetes UK noted, ‘Developing new treatments that give people more choice about how to manage their condition effectively are really important and so we look forward to seeing the results of the Nice consultation.’
