01/06/2016

ESTEVE SIGNS AN AGREEMENT WITH ASTRAZENECA TO MARKET (TYPE 2 DIABETES DRUGS) EDISTRIDE AND EBYMECT IN SPAIN

ESTEVE has reached an agreement with AstraZeneca to market -in Spain and as of this month of June- the drugs Edistride (dapagliflozin) and Ebymect (dapagliflozin and metformin) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adult patients. This alliance further extends Esteve's commitment in this therapeutic area.

Edistride is an oral antidiabetic drug indicated as monotherapy in patients intolerant of metformin. Its active ingredient, dapagliflozin, reduces the absorption of glucose filtered in the kidney, thus resulting in urinary glucose excretion and further decreasing blood glucose levels in plasma.
Ebymect is another oral antidiabetic drug that combines dapagliflozin and metformin and can be used in patients not properly controlled with the maximum tolerated dose of metformin in monotherapy, or in patients already treated with the dapagliflozin/metformin combination in separate tablets.
Both medicines can be used in combination with other hypoglycemic drugs, including insulin, when these, together with diet and exercise, fail to properly control blood sugar levels.
"Our agreement with ESTEVE clearly reflects our commitment with Spain and with national partners. We are convinced that their wide expertise in the Spanish market, their knowledge of this area and the passion for science we share will continue to improve the quality of life of diabetic patients", states Rodrigo Gribble, Director of the Cardiometabolism Business Unit of AstraZeneca Spain.
For his part, ESTEVE Farma's Managing Director Joe Sullivan declares that "the alliance with AstraZeneca allows to continue offering the most innovative treatments of diabetes to both professionals and patients. It will also further strengthen our activities in this therapeutic area -a priority of the company".

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas fails to produce sufficient amounts of insulin or when the body cannot use the insulin it produces effectively. According to the 2015 atlas of the International Diabetes Federation, it currently affects 415 million people worldwide and is estimated to have been the direct cause of more than 5 million deaths. In Spain, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus is higher than 5 million adults, of which more than 2 million go undiagnosed, according to data from the Spanish Diabetes Association.

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