Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Am Heart J 2015 Jul;170(1):23-35

Considerations for assessing the potential effects of antidiabetes drugs on cardiac ventricular repolarization: a report from the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium.

Heller S, Darpo B, Mitchell MI, Linnebjerg H, Leishman DJ, Mehrotra N, Zhu H, Koerner J, Fiszman ML, Balakrishnan S, Xiao S, Todaro TG, Hensley I, Guth BD, Michelson EL, Sager P

Thorough QT studies conducted according to the International Council on Harmonisation E14 guideline are required for new nonantiarrhythmic drugs to assess the potential to prolong ventricular repolarization. Special considerations may be needed for conducting such studies with antidiabetes drugs as changes in blood glucose and other physiologic parameters affected by antidiabetes drugs may prolong the QT interval and thus confound QT/corrected QT assessments. This review discusses potential mechanisms for QT/corrected QT interval prolongation with antidiabetes drugs and offers practical considerations for assessing antidiabetes drugs in thorough QT studies. This article represents collaborative discussions among key stakeholders from academia, industry, and regulatory agencies participating in the Cardiac Safety Research Consortium. It does not represent regulatory policy.