New clinical data show Solvay’s fenofibrate cuts risk of main causes of vision loss in patients with type 2 diabetes


Fenofibrate offers opportunity to protect patients from
most serious consequences of type 2 diabetes

SOLVAY welcomes the publication of the results of a study showing that fenofibrate, its product line in dyslipidemia (control of cholesterol and triglycerides), significantly reduces the need for treatment of the main causes of vision loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. The study shows that fenofibrate decreases the need for laser therapy for diabetic eye disease by more than 30 percent. These important, new results were published online in the Lancet (www.thelancet.com) yesterday by investigators from the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study. Principal investigator of the study is Professor Anthony Keech of the University of Sydney (Australia).

In addition to reducing the need for laser therapy in the overall population, fenofibrate showed, in a substudy of approximately 1,000 patients with preexisting eye disease, a significant reduction in the progression of this disease.

Eye disease, including diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema, affects up to 50 million of the 200 million people with diabetes worldwide. After about 10 years of diabetes, a substantial proportion of patients will experience clinically significant changes in their vision.

Additional results from the main FIELD study show that fenofibrate significantly decreased the risk of non-traumatic amputations. Earlier data demonstrated that fenofibrate also significantly reduces microalbuminuria, a marker of the risk of progressive renal disease.

For detailed information, visit the FIELD website at www.fieldstudy.info.

Solvay Pharmaceuticals is a research driven group of companies that constitute the global pharmaceutical business of the Solvay Group. The company seeks to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of neuroscience, cardiometabolic, influenza vaccines, gastroenterology, and men’s and women’s health. Its 2006 sales were EUR 2.6 billion and it employs approximately 10000 people worldwide. For more information, visit solvaypharmaceuticals.com.

SOLVAY is an international chemical and pharmaceutical Group with headquarters in Brussels.  It employs some 29,000 people in 50 countries.  In 2006, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 9.4 billion, generated by its three sectors of activity:  Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals.  Solvay (NYSE Euronext: SOLB.BE – Bloomberg: SOLB.BB – Reuters: SOLBt.BR) is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels. Details are available at www.solvay.com

 

 

 

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