Skip to main content

Onglyza FDA Alerts

The FDA Alerts below may be specifically about Onglyza or relate to a group or class of drugs which include Onglyza.

MedWatch Safety Alerts are distributed by the FDA and published by Drugs.com. Following is a list of possible medication recalls, market withdrawals, alerts and warnings.

Recent FDA Alerts for Onglyza

Diabetes Medications Containing Saxagliptin and Alogliptin: Drug Safety Communication - Risk of Heart Failure

Apr 5, 2016 | Audience: Pharmacy, Internal Medicine, Patient, Endocrinology

ISSUE: An FDA safety review has found that type 2 diabetes medicines containing saxagliptin and alogliptin may increase the risk of heart failure, particularly in patients who already have heart or kidney disease. As a result, FDA is adding new warnings to the drug labels about this safety issue.

Medicines containing saxagliptin and alogliptin include:

This Communication is an update to the 02/11/2014 FDA Drug Safety Communication.

BACKGROUND: Saxagliptin and alogliptin are part of the class of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor drugs, which are used with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.

FDA evaluated two large clinical trials conducted in patients with heart disease. These clinical trials were also discussed at the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting in April 2015. Each trial showed that more patients who received saxagliptin- or alogliptin-containing medicines were hospitalized for heart failure compared to patients who received an inactive treatment called a placebo (see Data Summary in the FDA Drug Safety Communication for additional information). In the saxagliptin trial, 3.5% of patients who received the drug were hospitalized for heart failure versus 2.8% of patients who received a placebo. This is the same as 35 out of every 1,000 patients compared to 28 out of every 1,000 patients. Risk factors included a history of heart failure or kidney impairment. In the alogliptin trial, 3.9% of alogliptin-treated patients were hospitalized for heart failure versus 3.3% in the placebo group. This is the same as 39 out of every 1,000 patients compared to 33 out of every 1,000 patients.

RECOMMENDATION: Health care professionals should consider discontinuing medications containing saxagliptin and alogliptin in patients who develop heart failure and monitor their diabetes control. If a patient’s blood sugar level is not well-controlled with their current treatment, other diabetes medicines may be required.

Patients taking these medicines should contact their health care professionals right away if they develop signs and symptoms of heart failure such as:

  • Unusual shortness of breath during daily activities
  • Trouble breathing when lying down
  • Tiredness, weakness, or fatigue
  • Weight gain with swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, or stomach

Patients should not stop taking their medicine without first talking to their health care professionals.

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

[04/05/2016 - Drug Safety Communication - FDA]

DPP-4 Inhibitors for Type 2 Diabetes: Drug Safety Communication - May Cause Severe Joint Pain

Aug 28, 2015 | Audience: Patient, Endocrinology, Family Practice, Internal Medicine

ISSUE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that the type 2 diabetes medicines sitagliptin, saxagliptin, linagliptin, and alogliptin may cause joint pain that can be severe and disabling. FDA has added a new Warning and Precaution about this risk to the labels of all medicines in this drug class, called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. See the Drug Safety Communication for a complete list of all FDA-approved DPP-4 inhibitors.

BACKGROUND: DPP-4 inhibitors are used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. When untreated, type 2 diabetes can lead to serious problems, including blindness, nerve and kidney damage, and heart disease. These medicines are available as single-ingredient products and in combination with other diabetes medicines such as metformin.

RECOMMENDATION: Patients should not stop taking their DPP-4 inhibitor medicine, but should contact their health care professional right away if they experience severe and persistent joint pain. Health care professionals should consider DPP-4 inhibitors as a possible cause of severe joint pain and discontinue the drug if appropriate. 

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

[08/28/2015 - Drug Safety Communication - FDA]

Saxagliptin (marketed as Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR): Drug Safety Communication - FDA to Review Heart Failure Risk

Feb 11, 2014 | Audience: Cardiology, Endocrinology, Pharmacy

ISSUE: FDA has requested clinical trial data from the manufacturer of saxagliptin to investigate a possible association between use of the type 2 diabetes drug and heart failure. FDAs request resulted from a study  published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), which reported an increased rate of hospitalization for heart failure, when the heart does not pump blood well enough, with use of saxagliptin (marketed as Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR) compared to an inactive treatment. The study did not find increased rates of death or other major cardiovascular risks, including heart attack or stroke, in patients who received saxagliptin. The manufacturer is expected to submit the trial data to FDA by early March 2014, after which FDA will conduct a thorough analysis and report findings publicly.

At this time, FDA considers information from the NEJM study to be preliminary. Analysis of the saxagliptin clinical trial data is part of a broader evaluation of all type 2 diabetes drug therapies and cardiovascular risk.

BACKGROUND: Saxagliptin is used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It works by increasing the amount of insulin produced by the body after meals, when blood sugar is high.

RECOMMENDATION: Patients should not stop taking saxagliptin and should speak with their health care professionals about any questions or concerns. Health care professionals should continue to follow the prescribing recommendations in the drug labels.

Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA's MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:

 

[02/11/2014 - Drug Safety Communication - FDA]

More Onglyza resources