Type 2 diabetes drug VTP-30472 not effective as add-on therapy

A drug being developed as an add-on therapy to treat type 2 diabetes in overweight patients has failed to significantly reduce their blood glucose levels.
VTP-30472 was co-developed between Vitae Pharmaceuticals and German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim. The aim of the drug is to target an enzyme that produces cortisol, a steroid hormone, that increases blood glucose levels.
The drug was being tested as an add-on to metformin, a commonly prescribed drug to treat patients with type 2 diabetes.
Doubts over potential
However, Vitae announced in a statement that VTP-34072 has not met its main goal in the Phase II study of the drug, with questions now raised about the drug’s potential.
VTP-34072 is also being tested as a monotherapy, with results from a trial expected later this year. Boehringer then plan to review the data from both trials to assess how to best proceed with the drug.
Richard Gregg, chief scientific officer of Vitae, said: “The metabolically complex, overweight type 2 diabetic patient population is in need of novel mechanisms of action that can address their overall risk profile.
“We are anxious to learn more about VTP-34072 when the study is completed and fully analysed.”