Tens of thousands of people with type 2 diabetes will be eligible for new treatments under new guidance from NICE.
The drugs will help to control blood sugar in those patients who cannot take more commonly prescribed medicines, meaning their condition remains stable for longer.
An estimated 31,000 people may be eligible for the three recommended treatments: canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Forxiga) and empagliflozin (Jardiance).
The three drugs can all be used on their own if a person can’t use metformin, sulfonylurea or pioglitazone, and diet and exercise alone isn’t controlling their blood glucose levels.
In the UK, almost 3.5 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes and it’s estimated that about 90 per cent of adults with the condition have type 2 diabetes.
Professor Carole Longson, Director of the NICE Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, said, ‘Type 2 diabetes is long-term condition that has a serious impact on people who live with it, and the treatments given should be tailored for the individual.
‘For many people whose blood glucose levels aren’t controlled by diet and exercise alone, metformin is the first drug treatment that they’ll be offered. But some people may experience nausea and diarrhoea, and they may not be able to take it if they have kidney damage. For people who can’t take a sulfonylurea or pioglitazone, then the three drugs recommended in this guidance can be considered. This is as an alternative to the separate group of drugs called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors.
‘The committee agreed that people with diabetes and their clinicians would value having an additional treatment option to help manage their type 2 diabetes – which this positive guidance provides.’
