The Food and Drug Administration approved an extended-release combination of canagliflozin and metformin for first-line use as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes, according to Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Once-daily Invokamet XR combines canagliflozin (Invokana) and an extended-release formulation of metformin. Studies in healthy adults have shown that Invokamet XR results in the same levels of canagliflozin and metformin in the body as when corresponding dosages of the two medicines are administered as separate tablets.
Phase III studies showed that using canagliflozin and metformin lowered blood sugar and, in prespecified secondary endpoints, was linked to greater reductions in body weight and systolic blood pressure.
Invokamet XR is available with 50 mg or 150 mg of canagliflozin, and 500 mg or 1,000 mg of extended-release metformin. Invokamet XR contains a boxed warning regarding the risk of lactic acidosis.
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