Overview of Type 2 Diabetes Drugs on the Market

Abstract

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a systemic metabolic disorder with complex pathogenesis. In recent years, a variety of new T2DM drugs have emerged, such as sodium-dependent glucose transporters 2 (SGLT-2) inhibi-tors, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and dipeptidyl pepti-dase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. As traditional medicines, insulin also has developed kinds of formulations such as quick-acting or premixed insulin. In addition , new treatment schedules combining multiple drugs are also fully explored. The efficacy, the administration, the mechanism, the safety and the price of these drugs are all different, providing patients with multiple options. This paper reviews the main types of type 2 diabetes drugs on the market and describes the mechanism of action. The representative type 2 diabetes treatment drugs are listed, and the advantages and disadvantages of these representative drugs are preliminarily evaluated. This information is reviewed to help doctors with clinical medication.