Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have published a new analysis on EMPA-REG OUTCOME, a clinical trial for Jardiance (Ingredient: empagliflozin), a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor that treats type 2 diabetes mellitus.

An analysis of 7,020 patients included in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME clinical study showed that the empagliflozin-treated group had an increased life expectancy at all ages versus placebo-treated patients, they said in a news release.

Using the actuarial method with the assumption that the benefit of empagliflozin carries on even in long-term use, empagliflozin can extend the expected life expectancy from one year to 4.5 years compared with the placebo group depending on the patient’s age, they said.

In particular, the average survival time of patients aged 45 years was 32.1 years in the empagliflozin group, which was 4.5 years longer than the placebo group’s 27.6 years.

For patients in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, the mean survival time of patients treated with empagliflozin were 3.1, 2.5, 2 years and one year longer than placebo, respectively.

Such results suggest that treatment with empagliflozin may prolong life.

“Previous studies have estimated that the life expectancy of patients in their 60s with type 2 diabetes can be reduced up to 12 years compared with patients of the same age without cardiovascular disease,” said Professor Brian Claggett, the lead author of the research. “The latest analysis confirms that empagliflozin can extend the lifespan of patients with cardiovascular disease by an average of 2.5 years.”