AstraZeneca PLC and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said that dapagliflozin, their new diabetes drug has achieved its target in a late-stage clinical study by helping to decrease blood sugar levels.

This drug is used to treat Type-2 diabetes by helping the kidneys remove excess glucose. The study involved a comparison between a combination of dapagliflozin and metformin, a common diabetes treatment, and metformin and a placebo in a group of patients who were deprived to the optimum level of sugar control from metformin alone.

The drug also completed its second goal as patients who took it had lower blood sugar levels when they were fasting.

The trial included 546 patients and went on for 24 weeks which included subjects who took dapagliflozin and metformin also reduced more kilos than patients taking metformin and placebo.

"We have not seen anything of concern," William Mezzanotte, global product director at Astra, told Reuters. "We are confident we can continue safely with this drug."

The results of the trial were presented in Vienna at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.