FDA accepts new drug application for investigational compound Dapagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a New Drug Application (NDA) for dapagliflozin, an investigational compound for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for dapagliflozin has also been validated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The NDA and MAA submissions for dapagliflozin were filed in December 2010. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for the FDA is 28 October 2011.

The US and European submissions included data of up to two years in duration from a global development programme involving approximately 6,000 individuals in 40 clinical studies. In accordance with FDA guidelines, the US application also includes data assessing the cardiovascular safety of dapagliflozin in adults with type 2 diabetes.

If approved, dapagliflozin would potentially be the first in a class of novel agents for diabetes that inhibit sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2), a specific target located in the kidney. Through this mechanism, dapagliflozin is designed to help control glycaemia independently of insulin pathways, leading to the excretion of excess glucose and associated calories in the urine.