This content originally appeared on diaTribe. Republished with permission.
By Andrew Briskin, Susannah Chen
Brenzavvy, a kind 2 diabetes drug recently approved by the FDA, has just change into commercially available at lower cost with no insurance required.
Pharmaceutical company TheracosBio has announced that Brenzavvy (bexagliflozin) is now available within the US. The medication is obtainable with a prescription through Cost Plus Drugs, an organization that negotiates directly with manufacturers to supply medications at a lower cost. Cost Plus is offering a 30-day supply for $47.85 plus shipping and handling.
This follows the FDA’s announcement in January that the brand new medication, which was designed to be a cheaper treatment option than other competitors in its class, had been approved to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adults not receiving dialysis.
How much does Brenzavvy cost?
Brenzavvy belongs to a category of medicine often called SGLT-2 inhibitors, which work by helping the body remove excess glucose (sugar) through the urine. Nevertheless, these medications typically have a steep retail price of lots of of dollars monthly.
Cost Plus Drugs is a public-benefit corporation, licensed drug wholesaler, and online pharmacy founded by Mark Cuban and physician Alexander Oshmyansky, who lives with diabetes. While it doesn’t currently sell insulin, the corporate, which offers greater than 1,000 prescriptions, also sells the SGLT-2 inhibitor Invokana (canagliflozin), which retails on the positioning at $244 for 30 tablets, down from the list price of $676.
How does Brenzavvy work?
Brenzavvy was approved based on results from 23 clinical trials, which enrolled over 5,000 adults with type 2 diabetes. These trials showed that the medication, which was approved as the primary oral treatment for diabetes in cats, effectively lowered blood sugar levels and improved overall diabetes control.
One of the vital essential trials was the BEST trial, a phase 3 trial that checked out the consequences of Brenzavvy on A1C levels over a 24-week period. This trial enrolled 1,700 adults with type 2 diabetes and located that the once-daily medication was in a position to reduce A1C levels by 0.85% from an 8.3% baseline, indicating that on average, participants’ A1C levels went down from 8.3% to 7.45%.
A1C levels above 7% are related to an increased risk of complications from diabetes, similar to heart disease, kidney disease, and blindness. A discount of 0.85% in A1C levels can significantly reduce the chance of those complications. Researchers also found participants taking Brenzavvy experienced a 3kg reduction in body weight after 48 weeks, and this weight reduction was sustained in the course of the 168 weeks of follow-ups.
Brenzavvy, which may be used alone or together with other diabetes medications, is not approved for individuals with type 1 diabetes. Probably the most common side effect of Brenzavvy was yeast infections.
Brenzavvy is now the fifth SGLT-2 inhibitor approved within the US, together with Invokana (canagliflozin), Farxiga (dapagliflozin), Jardiance (empagliflozin), and Steglatro (ertugliflozin). Only 12% of adults with T2D in the USA are currently taking an SGLT-2 inhibitor, and amongst those that start, roughly 50% stop treatment inside a 12 months resulting from high cost and insurance barriers.
Learn more about SGLT-2 inhibitor medications: