(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Tuesday announced that the EU has approved its drug Forxiga for the treatment of symptomatic chronic heart failure.

The approval comes after the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended approval in December.

The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company said the approval marks the "first and only heart failure therapy with proven mortality benefit across the full ejection fraction range."

Heart failure affects about 15 million people in Europe, AstraZeneca said, quoting a 2008 study that was endorsed by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine.

Mene Pangalos, executive vice president, at AstraZeneca's BioPharmaceuticals research & development unit, said: "This broader indication for Forxiga for the treatment of symptomatic chronic heart failure across the full ejection fraction range will help more patients to benefit from this well-tolerated and guideline-directed treatment. We are redefining treatment of cardiorenal diseases with Forxiga's demonstration of life-saving benefits, underscoring AstraZeneca's commitment to provide innovative solutions that can help address the complexities of heart failure across the spectrum of the disease."

Besides treating heart failure, AstraZeneca's Forxiga is also approved in the EU for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Shares in AstraZeneca were up 0.2% to 10,601.20 pence on Thursday morning in London.

By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter

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