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# Cardiac Testing Still Needed for Diabetes Drugs: LaMattina
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/cardiac-testing-still-needed-for-diabetes-drugs-lamattina/
- Published: 2018-11-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T00:43:25.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5142777

Former Pfizer Global Research and Development president **John LaMattina** says that while cardiovascular outcome trials for diabetes drugs are expensive and lengthy, they are here to stay. Writing in a *Forbes* online [post](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnlamattina/2018/11/06/no-matter-what-the-fda-decides-new-diabetes-drugs-will-still-require-cv-outcomes-trials/?ref=fdaweb.com#7ea57ed25098), LaMattina says that Type 2 diabetics generally have conditions that make then prone to cardiovascular disease and thus doctors, patients, and even payers are far more likely to prefer a diabetes treatment with established long-term cardiovascular benefits rather than use a new drug with no cardiovascular benefit or one that has yet to be studied for cardiovascular risk.

LaMattina writes that the initial requirement that sponsors of new diabetes drugs provide long-term data showing that they did not create excess harm with respect to cardiovascular effects, had a dampening effect on diabetes drug research and development.

A recent advisory committee [meeting](https://www.fdaweb.com/mixed-vote-on-cardio-risk-trials-for-diabetes-drugs/), he says, split 10-9 on the question of whether such trials should continue to be required. He reports there was unanimous agreement on the need to reduce diabetes drug trial costs, whether through a streamlined cardiovascular outcome trial protocol designed to increase efficiency and decrease costs, or through using more robust Phase 2 and 3 studies with a much longer follow-up of patients to gain a higher confidence that the new drug was not causing cardiovascular harm.

“Both suggestions merit consideration by FDA should it decide to make changes to the current system,” LaMattina says.