The National Directorate of Pharmacies and Drugs of the Ministry of Health of Panama (MINSA) approved the Canagliflozine drug as a new therapeutic alternative for the control and treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.
The product, which is marketed under the Invokana brand in the country, uses a new mechanism of action that acts on the kidneys and not on the pancreas, which makes it a therapeutic innovation.
Clinical studies of Canagliflozine had more than 10,300 patients in nine different clinical studies.
For Randy Bowen, Janssen's medical manager, Canagliflozina works by controlling glucose through the kidney and not through the pancreas."This is especially relevant because a large number of patients are diagnosed with diabetes when they have between 5 and 10 years of suffering from the disease, so their pancreas is already affected," he explained.
According to official figures, Panama is located within the countries of Central America with the highest prevalence of diabetes.More than 330 thousand people suffer from this disease, which is equivalent to 8.4% of the population.Of this total, 90% have type 2 diabetes.
According to the figures of the International Diabetes Federation, 202,000 cases were registered only in Panama and 1,397 deaths related to this condition were presented in the country.
Type 2 diabetes may appear at any age and the disease can spend years without being detected, until the diagnosis is given due to the appearance of some complication or by performing a routine glucose exam.