Jardiance Trials Expand With New Exercise Capacity and Heart Failure Trials

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly recently announced that they plan to expand trials of Jardiance (empagliflozin; Boehringer Ingelheim/Eli Lilly) to study impact on exercise ability and heart failure symptoms. 

The new trials, titled the EMPERIAL clinical trials, will measure how use of Jardiance among patients with chronic heart failure independent of whether they have comorbid type 2 diabetes impacts exercise ability and heart failure symptoms. 

The EMPERIAL trials will consist of two 12-week phase 3 studies that will measure daily heart failure symptoms and daily exercise ability. Exercise ability will be measured based on the distance walked in 6 minutes. Changes from baseline to 12 weeks will be examined to determine if Jardiance benefits these patients.

“Symptoms of heart failure can have a profound effect on quality of life, with more than three-quarters of people with heart failure finding it difficult to carry out routine activities,” Jeff Emmick, MD, PhD, vice president of product development at Lilly Diabetes, said in a press release announcing the trials. “Currently, there are limited treatment options that can help improve the everyday lives of people living with chronic heart failure. We look forward to seeing whether Jardiance can help address this unmet need.”

The EMPERIAL trials follow the recent launch of the Jardiance EMPEROR trials which measure long-term morbidity and mortality outcomes in patients with heart failure. 

The EMPERIAL trials will include around 300 patients with chronic heart failure and are estimated to finish in 2019.

—David Costill