AstraZeneca says diabetes drug Farxiga fails in COVID-19 study

AstraZeneca said on Monday primary data from a late-stage study to test whether its diabetes drug Farxiga could treat patients hospitalised with COVID-19, who are at risk of developing serious complications, did not meet its main goals.

The British drugmaker said Farxiga did not achieve statistical significance in cutting the risk of the disease worsening and death in such patients.

Farxiga was given over 30 days in a global trial of 1,250 patients hospitalised with COVID-19, in addition to the local standard of care.


Patients in the trial also had a medical history of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and heart failure, type-2 diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

AstraZeneca said the safety and tolerability profile for Farxiga at 30 days in the trial was consistent with established safety profile of the medicine.