By Tess Stynes

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) said their investigational diabetes treatment helped lower blood-glucose levels in patients with hard-to-treat cases of type 2 diabetes, meeting the main targets in a late-stage clinical study.

The phase 3 study data was presented at an industry conference in Germany.

The treatment--called ertugliflozin--when used along with Merck's Januvia and another traditional diabetes drug showed significantly greater reductions in blood sugar levels than a placebo.

"Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease and these study results help support the clinical profile of ertugliflozin as an add-on therapy for patients who may require multiple treatment combinations to help reach their blood sugar goals," said James Rusnak, Pfizer chief development officer, cardiovascular and metabolics.

The drug makers plan to file new drug applications with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year and to seek additional approvals outside the U.S. next year.

Ertugliflozin belongs to a class of therapies called SGLT2 inhibitors, which help lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes by causing excretion of glucose in urine.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 15, 2016 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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