AstraZeneca’s Diabetes Drug Lowers Heart-Failure Risk in Study

AstraZeneca Plc’s Farxiga drug lowered diabetes patients’ heart risks in a study that will help it compete against Eli Lilly & Co. in a growing market for new treatments that address the two conditions.

Patients who took Farxiga as part of a diabetes regimen had a lower risk of death from heart disease or hospitalization for heart failure than those who received standard treatments for the disease, according to top-line results of a five-year study that enrolled about 17,000 patients.

Diabetes occurs when the body loses the ability to control blood sugar, raising patients’ vulnerability to eye, kidney, nerve and ...