Dapagliflozin: A guide to its use in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Dapagliflozin (Forxiga®), the first available renal sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor, is a glucose-lowering agent with a unique insulin-independent mechanism of action. Relative to placebo, oral dapagliflozin significantly reduced glycated haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose values when administered as monotherapy in previously untreated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and as add-on therapy in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes despite treatment with oral antidiabetic agents or insulin-based therapy. Dapagliflozin is generally well tolerated with a low propensity to cause hypoglycaemia. © 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.