EMPEROR-Preserved confirms success of Empagliflozin in HFpEF

"We look forward to presenting the EMPEROR-Preserved results at ESC 2021, which should offer a breakthrough in cardiovascular medicine and a new hope for people with HFpEF, which is an increasingly prevalent public health issue. HFpEF has long been the most challenging form of heart failure to treat," said Professor Stefan Anker, Heart Failure Cardiologist at Charité Berlin, Germany, and EMPEROR-Preserved Principal Investigator. "Building on previous results from the EMPA-REG-OUTCOME trial, and the EMPEROR-Reduced trial in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, the EMPEROR-Preserved findings demonstrate that empagliflozin reduces cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure and has the potential to transform the care of people living with heart failure."

Heart failure poses a significant global disease burden: more than 60 million patients worldwide have heart failure and half of them have HFpEF.3,4 Heart failure is a leading cause of hospitalization and is becoming increasingly prevalent in Western countries due to aging populations.3 The risk of death in people with heart failure rises with each hospital admission.5 Heart failure with left ventricular preserved ejection fraction occurs when the left ventricle of the heart is unable to fill properly, resulting in less blood being pumped to the body.6

"The totality of evidence from the trial points to the potential of empagliflozin to redefine treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which affects approximately 30 million people worldwide," said Waheed Jamal, M.D., Corporate Vice President and Head of CardioMetabolic Medicine, Boehringer Ingelheim. "Until now, there have been no clinical studies demonstrating reduced risk of heart failure hospitalizations or cardiovascular mortality for all adults with this prevalent and life-limiting condition. With the earlier EMPEROR-Reduced trial results, we are confident in the potential of empagliflozin to positively impact the lives of adults across the full spectrum of heart failure."

"Empagliflozin was the first SGLT2 inhibitor to reduce cardiovascular death for people with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and we have now reached another important milestone, this time in heart failure," added Jeff Emmick, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President, Product Development, Lilly. "The EMPEROR-Preserved topline results offer promise in a type of heart failure that until now has traditionally been very challenging to treat effectively. The EMPEROR heart failure studies are part of our EMPOWER clinical trial program exploring the effect of empagliflozin across a spectrum of cardio-renal-metabolic diseases, aiming to significantly improve outcomes in these highly prevalent conditions that impact many people's lives."

The EMPEROR-Preserved trial investigated empagliflozin 10 mg compared to placebo.7 Full results from the EMPEROR-Preserved trial are scheduled for presentation at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2021 on 27 August. Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly plan for regulatory submissions in 2021.

These results add to previous findings from the EMPEROR-Reduced Phase III trial, which showed that empagliflozin significantly reduced the combined relative risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure by 25 percent, compared to placebo in adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).8 Together, these studies demonstrate the benefits of empagliflozin for patients across the full heart failure spectrum (including HFrEF and HFpEF).

The EMPEROR-Reduced results formed the basis of the recent approval of a new indication for empagliflozin for the treatment of adults with HFrEF by the European Commission. A supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for empagliflozin to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure in adults with HFrEF has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with a decision expected later this year.10 Empagliflozin is currently indicated for the treatment of adults with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes (and additionally in the E.U., for the treatment of adults with HFrEF).Research is ongoing regarding empagliflozin's effects on hospitalization for heart failure and mortality in post-myocardial infarction (heart attack) patients with high risk of heart failure. Empagliflozin is also currently being investigated in chronic kidney disease.