Empagliflozin
Jardiance is the brand name for empagliflozin 1.
Drug Classification and Mechanism
Empagliflozin is a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor that works by blocking glucose reabsorption in the kidneys, leading to increased urinary glucose excretion 1. The drug reduces renal reabsorption of filtered glucose, lowers the renal threshold for glucose, and increases sodium delivery to the distal tubule, which influences cardiovascular hemodynamics by lowering both preload and afterload 1.
Available Formulations
Jardiance is available as oral film-coated tablets in two strengths:
- 10 mg tablets
- 25 mg tablets
Each tablet contains empagliflozin as the active ingredient along with inactive ingredients including lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, and others 1.
FDA-Approved Indications
The medication has multiple FDA-approved uses 1:
- Heart failure: Reduce risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with heart failure (both HFrEF and HFpEF), regardless of diabetes status 2
- Type 2 diabetes: Lower blood sugar along with diet and exercise in adults with type 2 diabetes 1
- Cardiovascular risk reduction: Reduce risk of cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes and known cardiovascular disease 3
Clinical Evidence Highlights
Empagliflozin demonstrated significant cardiovascular benefits in the EMPA-REG OUTCOME trial, showing a 38% reduction in cardiovascular mortality, 32% reduction in all-cause mortality, and 35% reduction in heart failure hospitalization 4. More recently, the EMPEROR-Reduced and EMPEROR-Preserved trials confirmed benefits across the entire heart failure spectrum regardless of ejection fraction or diabetes status 2, 5, 6.