Jardiance® is the only diabetes medication to show a significant reduction in both cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular death in a dedicated outcome trial

• Jardiance® achieved superiority for the primary CV endpoint and a significant reduction in CV death in people with T2D at high risk of CV events
• The results of the EMPA-REG OUTCOME® trial were published in NEJM and also presented at the 51st European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting today

INGELHEIM, Germany, and INDIANAPOLIS, IN, Sept. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company's (NYSE: LLY) Jardiance® (empagliflozin) significantly reduced the risk of the combined endpoint of cardiovascular (CV) death, non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke by 14 percent when added to standard of care, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) at high risk of CV events. There was a 38 percent reduction in CV death, with no significant difference in the risk of non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke.

In addition, treatment with Jardiance® resulted in a lower risk of all-cause mortality (32 percent reduction) and hospitalization for heart failure (35 percent reduction).

"These results are both novel and exciting for the millions of people living with type 2 diabetes at risk for cardiovascular disease. Addressing the burden of cardiovascular events, including death, is at the core of diabetes care, and until now no single diabetes medication has been associated with a reduction in mortality," said lead investigator of the trial Dr. Bernard Zinman, Director, Diabetes Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital; Senior Scientist, Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, and Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada. "In this study, empagliflozin was shown to prevent one out of three cardiovascular deaths."

Life expectancy of people with T2D at high CV risk is, on average, decreased by up to twelve years1 with approximately 50 percent of deaths in people with T2D caused by CV disease.2,3 The effect of Jardiance® in this trial was observed on top of standard of care. This means the benefit was seen over and above other treatments patients were already receiving for diabetes and/or cardiovascular disease (such as blood pressure and cholesterol lowering-medications).

"The EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial results are encouraging for healthcare professionals and their patients," said Dr. Christopher P. Cannon, Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the study. "Patients in the study were already being treated with medications that have been proven to reduce cardiovascular events. The observation that empagliflozin provided additional cardiovascular death reduction on top of these other medications is a very important finding."

The overall safety profile of Jardiance® was consistent with previous trials. The incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis was at or below 0.1 percent and similar across all treatment groups.

These data were presented today at the 51st European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org.

"The Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly Diabetes Alliance is very pleased to share the results of the EMPA- REG OUTCOME® trial with the healthcare community," said Prof. Hans-Juergen Woerle, Global Vice President Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. "Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes worldwide and reducing cardiovascular risk, including death, is an essential component of diabetes management."

About EMPA-REG OUTCOME®
EMPA-REG OUTCOME® was a long-term, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that involved more than 7,000 patients from 42 countries with type 2 diabetes at high risk for cardiovascular events. There were 772 primary outcome events in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME® trial over a median observation period of 3.1 years.

The study was designed to assess the effect of Jardiance® (10mg or 25mg once daily) added to standard of care compared with placebo added to standard of care. The primary endpoint was defined as time to first occurrence of either CV death, or non-fatal heart attack or non-fatal stroke. The study was designed to first test for non-inferiority and then for superiority.

Standard of care was comprised of glucose-lowering agents and cardiovascular drugs (including blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering medications).

Of the 7,020 treated patients, more than 97 percent completed the trial and vital status was available for more than 99 percent of these patients at study end. Analyses and results were independently validated and confirmed by the University of Freiburg, Germany an internationally renowned Academic Centre specializing in statistical analyses.

About Jardiance®
Jardiance® (empagliflozin) is an oral, once daily, highly selective sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor approved for use in Europe, the United States and other markets around the world for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes.

Jardiance® works by blocking the reabsorption of glucose (blood sugar) by the kidney, leading to urinary glucose excretion, and lowering blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. SGLT2 inhibition targets glucose directly and works independently of β-cell function and the insulin pathway.

Jardiance® is not for people with type 1 diabetes or for people with diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in the blood or urine).

Intended audiences
This press release is issued from Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved products may vary from country to country, and a country-specific press release on this topic may have been issued in the countries where Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company do business.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company
In January 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company announced an alliance in diabetes that centres on compounds representing several of the largest diabetes treatment classes. The alliance leverages the strengths of two of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. By joining forces, the companies demonstrate commitment in the care of patients with diabetes and stand together to focus on patient needs. Depending on geographies, the companies either co-promote or separately promote the respective molecules each contributed to the alliance.

Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates globally with 146 affiliates and a total of more than 47,700 employees. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

Social responsibility is an important element of the corporate culture at Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes worldwide involvement in social projects, such as the initiative "Making more Health" and caring for the employees. Respect, equal opportunities and reconciling career and family form the foundation of the mutual cooperation. In everything it does, the company focuses on environmental protection and sustainability.

In 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 13.3 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.9 per cent of its net sales.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

About Lilly Diabetes
Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research and collaboration, a broad and growing product portfolio and a continued determination to provide real solutions—from medicines to support programs and more—we strive to make life better for all those affected by diabetes around the world. For more information, visit  www.lillydiabetes.com.

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at  www.lilly.com and newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about empagliflozin as a treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes along with diet and exercise and reflects Lilly's current belief. However, as with any pharmaceutical product, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of development and commercialization. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that future study results will be consistent with the results to date or that empagliflozin will receive additional regulatory approvals. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see Lilly's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

REFERENCES

1. The Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration: Association of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity With Mortality. JAMA. 2015;314(1):52-60.
2. Nwaneri C, Cooper H, Bowen-Jones D. Mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus: magnitude of the evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease. 2013;13(4):192-207.
3. Morrish NJ, et al. Mortality and causes of death in the WHO Multinational Study of Vascular Disease in Diabetes. Diabetologia. 2001; 44 Suppl 2:S14-21.

SOURCE Eli Lilly Canada Inc.

For further information: Merry Garbutt, Corporate Communications, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., Email: [e-mail], Phone: [phone]; Helen Stone, Manager, Communications, Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Email: [e-mail], Phone: [phone]