Effect of muraglitazar on death and major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
BACKGROUND
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear transcription factors that modulate gene expression. Therapeutic agents targeting 2 distinct families of PPARs (alpha and gamma) have been introduced in the United States. The first dual-PPAR agonist, muraglitazar, was reviewed by a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee on September 9, 2005, resulting in a vote of 8:1 recommending approval for its use in controlling blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the incidence of death, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, congestive heart failure (CHF), and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in diabetic patients treated with muraglitazar compared with controls.


METHODS
The source material for this analysis consisted of documents about phase 2 and 3 clinical trials released under public disclosure laws for the FDA advisory committee meeting. All reviewed trials were prospective, randomized, double-blind, multicenter studies enrolling patients with type 2 diabetes and hemoglobin A(1c) levels between 7% and 10%. Patients (N = 3725) were randomized to receive differing doses of muraglitazar, pioglitazone, or placebo as monotherapy or in combination with metformin or glyburide in trials ranging from 24 to 104 weeks.


METHODS
The primary outcome was the incidence of death, nonfatal MI, or nonfatal stroke. A more comprehensive composite outcome included these events plus the incidence of CHF and TIA.


RESULTS
In the muraglitazar-treated patients, death, MI, or stroke occurred in 35 of 2374 (1.47%) patients compared with 9 of 1351 (0.67%) patients in the combined placebo and pioglitazone treatment groups (controls) (relative risk [RR], 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-4.66; P = .03). For the more comprehensive outcome measure that included TIA and CHF, the incidence was 50 of 2374 (2.11%) for muraglitazar compared with 11 of 1351 (0.81%) for controls (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.36-5.05; P = .004). Relative risks for each of the individual components of the composite end point exceeded 2.1 but were not statistically significant. Incidence of adjudicated CHF was 13 of 2374 (0.55%) muraglitazar-treated patients and 1 of 1351 controls (0.07%) (RR, 7.43; 95% CI, 0.97-56.8; P = .053).


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with placebo or pioglitazone, muraglitazar was associated with an excess incidence of the composite end point of death, major adverse cardiovascular events (MI, stroke, TIA), and CHF. This agent should not be approved to treat diabetes based on laboratory end points until safety is documented in a dedicated cardiovascular events trial.
Nissen
Steven E
SE
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. nissens@ccf.org
Wolski
Kathy
K
Topol
Eric J
EJ
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017277:Drug Approval; D005998:Glycine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010080:Oxazoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000819:agonists; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000819:agonists; D012306:Risk; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents; D010080:Oxazoles; D047493:PPAR alpha; D047495:PPAR gamma; D005998:Glycine; C500085:muraglitazar