About Onglyza
Onglyza is an oral medication intended to help people with Type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels by regulating the amount of insulin created by the body after eating. This medication is part of a drug class known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors—these drugs are meant to promote the production of insulin in the pancreas after a patient consumes a meal. Depending on the circumstances, Onglyza may be prescribed in conjunction with other medications that are intended to treat diabetes.
When Ongylza was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency listed the most common side effects that were observed in patients as headache, urinary tract infection, and upper repertory tract infection. Though its application for FDA approval was submitted prior to December of 2008—when the FDA began requiring new diabetes drugs undergo clinical trials for cardiovascular safety—the FDA did require a post-market study that was intended to examine and evaluate the effects of the medication on populations at a higher risk for cardiovascular events.
Since its FDA approval in 2009, Onglyza has become widely used to treat Type 2 diabetes. In response to an investigation into the effects of Onglyza that concluded in April of 2015, FDA panelists voted in favor of adding to the drug’s label to warn patients of the possibility that use of Onglyza may increase their risk of a cardiovascular event.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a multinational biologic and pharmaceutical company that is based in London. As measured by prescription drug sales from 2012, AstraZeneca was the seventh-largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Since the company was founded in 1999, it has acquired the biotechnology company Cambridge Antibody Technology, the biotechnology development enterprise MedImmune, and the biotechnology company Spirogen.
Today, AstraZeneca’s product portfolio includes drugs intended for neuroscience, cardiovascular health, cancer treatment, repertory health, gastrointestinal health, infection, and inflammation. As part of their portfolio, AstraZeneca sells the Type 2 diabetes pharmaceutical drug Onglyza.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is an American pharmaceutical company based out of New York. The multinational biologic and pharmaceutical company manufactures prescription drugs that are used to treat cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, psychiatric disorders, hepatitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Bristol-Myers Squibb manufactures the Type 2 diabetes drug Onglyza.
