Results from a landmark study involving more than 9,000 people showed that the high blood pressure medicine valsartan delayed progression to type 2 diabetes in patients with cardiovascular disease or risk factors and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a common pre-diabetic condition.

Primary data from the NAVIGATOR (Nateglinide And Valsartan in Impaired Glucose Tolerance Outcomes Research) trial, initiated in 2001, were presented at the American College of Cardiology Annual Meeting in Atlanta, USA and simultaneously published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study assessed whether valsartan or the oral anti-diabetic agent nateglinide could delay progression to diabetes or reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in people with IGT and cardiovascular disease or risk factors.

"Obesity and hypertension are global health epidemics, and many of these patients have problems with impaired glucose tolerance. From numerous studies, we know that patients with IGT have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Robert Califf, vice chancellor for clinical research at Duke University School of Medicine and Director of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute, Durham, NC, USA. "It is critical that we continue to search for pharmacologic interventions that may reduce the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease while emphasizing to our patients that weight loss, as little as 5 per cent, may improve outcomes."

Patients in the study with IGT and cardiovascular disease or other risk factors, who received valsartan for at least five years in addition to background therapy and a study-specific lifestyle-modification programme, achieved a statistically significant 14 per cent reduction in their risk of developing new-onset diabetes compared to those in the non-valsartan group.

Valsartan therapy did not show a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events in this well-managed group of patients, while nateglinide-based therapy did not show a reduction in the incidence of new-onset diabetes or of cardiovascular events in this study population.

Trevor Mundel, M.D., Global Head of Development at Novartis Pharma AG said: "As a global leader in cardiovascular and metabolic health, Novartis is committed to advancing public health and policy pertaining to diabetes. We are very pleased with the findings of the NAVIGATOR study as they add to the large body of scientific information on valsartan."

The worldwide prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase by 50 per cent (i.e. from 285 to 439 million patients) by 2030 IGT is a defined stage in the development of diabetes, and it has been suggested that up to 70 per cent of people with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and IGT are likely to develop type 2 diabetes over their lifetime. Current guidance from the American Diabetes Association, American College of Endocrinology/American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the World Health Organization recommends a variety of interventions for the management of pre-diabetes, based on lifestyle modification.

"Lifestyle modification remains the primary intervention for the prevention of diabetes. The NAVIGATOR study shows that valsartan, when added to a lifestyle-modification programme, can delay progression to diabetes in people who are at high cardiovascular risk and have impaired glucose tolerance," said Dr Rury Holman, Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Novartis plans to discuss the results of this study with the US Food and Drug Administration with a view to applying for a label change for valsartan. Valsartan is currently indicated for the treatment of high blood pressure for the treatment of heart failure, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular mortality in patients who have suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Nateglinide is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Neither valsartan nor nateglinide is currently indicated for the treatment of patients with IGT.