New diabetes drug could revolutionize care for thousands

Health & Fitness
10 Feb 2026 • 10:09 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

  • A new class of once-daily tablets, SGLT-2 inhibitors, has been found to significantly reduce premature deaths in type 2 diabetes patients.
  • A study by UCL and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, analysing data from 60,000 UK patients, showed those prescribed SGLT-2 inhibitors were 24 per cent less likely to die prematurely over an average of three years.
  • Researchers estimate these drugs could prevent approximately 20,000 deaths annually in the UK, based on three million people being treated for type 2 diabetes.
  • The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has endorsed SGLT-2 inhibitors as a first-line treatment, marking a major shift in diabetes care.
  • These drugs work by helping the kidneys remove glucose and are also shown to protect the heart and kidneys, offering benefits beyond blood sugar control.

IN FULL