Dapagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus – an update

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Diabetes is a global health concern with a prevalence of 463 million people. Importantly, despite the availability of numerous antidiabetic medications, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is still associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. One particular drug of interest is dapagliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor that is commonly used in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

Areas covered

This review outlines the current use and pharmacology of dapagliflozin, with a specific focus on recent evidence regarding benefits in patients with cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. The article includes an overview of the efficacy and safety of this drug and provides the reader with the expert opinion and perspectives of the authors.

Expert opinion

Increasing evidence of the beneficial effects on morbidity and mortality in patients with Type 2 diabetes and concurrent heart failure, acute MI and renal failure are likely to see the usage of dapagliflozin in patients with these comorbidities increase over the next 5 years.

KEYWORDS:

• Cardiac
• dapagliflozin
• diabetes
• glucose
• renal

Declaration of interest

J Wilding has received consultancy fees/clinical trial support (paid to his institution) from Astellas, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Napp, Mundipharma, Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Rhythm Pharma, Sanofi and Takeda. He has also received lecture fees from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck & Co. Napp, Novo Nordisk and Takeda. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

One referee served as an employee for Cardiovascular & Metabolic Disease Research at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and was involved with the organization that discovered dapagliflozin. The reviewer wishes to point out that they however retired from BMS in 2013 and BMS sold dapagliflozin to AstraZeneca more than five years ago. They also wish to clarify that they no longer own stock in BMS or any other company that markets diabetes drugs. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Drug summary box

Additional information

Funding

This manuscript was not funded