Astrazeneca says Forxiga combination beats use of drug alone

FRANKFURT, Sept 16 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) said combining its Forxiga type-2 diabetes drug with older medicine Bydureon was more effective at controlling blood sugar levels than treatment with either drug on its own.

In a late stage trial, Forxiga and Bydureon were tested on patients whose blood sugar levels could no longer be sufficiently kept in check under an initial standard diabetes therapy with metformin.

The combination therapy led to a 1.95 percent reduction in HbA1c, a measure of long-term blood glucose levels, better than the 1.58 percent and 1.37 percent reduction from using Bydureon and Forxiga on their own, respectively.

The drug combination was also shown to be better in terms of the secondary study goals weight loss and blood pressure reduction. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Arno Schuetze)