Rate of Reaching Target Blood Sugar Doubles... 'Empagard' Triple Therapy Proven in Europe

[Financial News] A new treatment option is expected to become available for patients with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose remains uncontrolled despite taking metformin and an SGLT-2 inhibitor together. Triple therapy adding JW Pharmaceutical's combination drug 'Empagard' showed greater glucose-lowering efficacy than the existing dual therapy in a phase 3 trial.

JW Pharmaceutical announced on the 6th that it had presented phase 3 clinical trial results for Empagard, a combination of the type 2 diabetes drug anagliptin (brand name: Gadlet) and empagliflozin, at the recently held EASD Annual Meeting 2026 of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Kim Sangyong, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism at Chosun University Hospital, delivered the presentation at the meeting in Europe that day.
The 24-week trial was conducted at 26 hospitals in South Korea among patients with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose remained inadequately controlled despite taking metformin and empagliflozin together. It compared the efficacy and safety of a control group that continued the existing combination therapy (metformin plus empagliflozin) with those of a treatment group switched to Empagard combination therapy (metformin plus Empagard).
The Empagard group saw HbA1c, a key indicator of diabetes management, decline by 0.81 percentage points from baseline, compared with 0.24 percentage points in the control group. The rate of reaching the target blood glucose level—an HbA1c of 7.0% or lower—was 55.7% in the Empagard group, more than twice the 25.5% recorded in the control group. Improvements in the function of pancreatic beta cells, which secrete insulin, and reductions in fasting blood glucose were also confirmed.
In terms of safety, the incidence of adverse events in the Empagard group was similar to that in the control group, and no cases of severe hypoglycemia were reported.
Professor Kim explained, "When Empagard was administered to patients whose blood glucose could not be controlled with existing drug combinations, we confirmed superior glucose-lowering effects and improved pancreatic beta-cell function. We can now provide a safe and effective treatment option for a patient group whose treatment choices had been limited."
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease in which insulin resistance increases and insulin secretion declines, causing persistent hyperglycemia. Patients whose blood glucose is not adequately controlled with dual therapy consisting of metformin and empagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor, have needed additional treatment options with proven efficacy and safety.
Based on these results, JW Pharmaceutical plans to strengthen Empagard's position in the diabetes treatment market and expand evidence-based clinical marketing.
A JW Pharmaceutical spokesperson said, "These clinical data are meaningful results that reconfirm Empagard's blood glucose control efficacy and safety. We will continue working to provide diabetes patients with more diverse treatment options and reliable clinical evidence."
[email protected] Reporter Jung Myung-jin