The drug, in Phase III testing in the U.S., would have treated diabetes while lowering blood pressure. It combined Takeda's diabetes treatment, Actos, with an angiotensin receptor blocker. The company reportedly found it difficult to combine the two drugs. Takeda spokesman Seizo Masuda told Reuters that termination of the product's development has no connection to the development of the DPP-4 inhibitor, SYR-322, which is now in Phase III and is said to lower blood sugar without promoting weight gain.
A brief report from Reuters here.
Since GSK's Avandia's potential risks became news, Takeda's stock value has increased, media report.(Actos has not thus far been shown to pose cardiovascular risks.) However, the drug may promote osteoporosis in some patients (brief previous news item here)
