FDA panel recommends approval for J&J Type 2 diabetes drug

RARITAN, N.J. -- A panel of Food and Drug Administration experts has recommended approval for an experimental Type 2 diabetes drug made by Johnson & Johnson, the drug maker said.

J&J said the FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee had recommended approval for canagliflozin, which the company plans to market under the name brand Invokana. The FDA is not required to follow the votes of advisory committees when deciding whether or not to approve a drug, but usually does.

The drug is a once-daily pill for treating Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, in adults, and works by blocking the reabsorption of glucose by the kidney, increasing glucose excretion and lowering blood glucose levels.

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