Bayer’s Xarelto (ingredient: rivaroxaban) has reduced the risk of death of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients with type 2 diabetes by about 10 percent, as well as their hospitalization caused by bleeding, compared with Warfarin.

The company conducted studies from November 2011 to December 2019 in the U.S. on 116,049 NVAF patients accompanying type 2 diabetes, according to Bayer Korea on Tuesday. It then analyzed whether the results met the key endpoints, including bleeding and vascular death, stroke, and limb complications.

Patients with type 2 diabetes are 49 percent more likely to develop NVAF than healthy people, and about one in three people with NVAF had type 2 diabetes. 

The company presented the RIVA-DM study results at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session and Expo.

NVAF patients with diabetes have a five times higher risk of developing stroke, systemic embolism, and vascular death than those without diabetes. About 462 million people, or 6 percent of the world's population, have diabetes, posing a significant threat to healthcare services.

"Atrial fibrillation can be a serious threat for people with type 2 diabetes," Bayer Chief Medical Officer Michael Devoy said. "Xarelto reassured the safety and efficacy profile in the RIVA-DM study for treating NVAF patients with diabetes and reconfirmed it is a new oral anticoagulant (NOAC) for those with atrial fibrillation and diabetes."

Bayer also presented the two real-world data of the studies, including RIVA-DM trial results, at the European Heart Rhythm Association’s annual congress in April.