The rise in diabetes is often referred to as a medical time bomb. With more than 366 million people worldwide suffering from the disease, the pressure is on the pharmaceutical industry to devise and develop more effective drugs.
Diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism where the body does not produce enough or any insulin to control the glucose in the blood. There are two types of diabetes – type 1 occurs when the insulin-producing cells have been destroyed and the body cannot produce any insulin. It is treated with daily insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body is still able to produce insulin but not enough or when the insulin doesn’t work effectively.
Type 2 diabetes usually develops in the over 40s but is prevalent at a younger age in South Asian and black people, while it is becoming increasingly common in children and teenagers of all ethnicities.
Medication to control type 2 diabetes has become the focus of a lot of recent drug research. Many of the current drugs, designed to lower the blood glucose level, come with serious side effects and pharmaceutical researchers are working on new medication to eliminate such side effects.
SGLT-2 inhibitors and GKA activators are among the newest drugs on the market.
SGLT-2 inhibitors are a class of drugs that work via the kidneys to remove glucose. The inhibitors have been shown to help patients lose weight, a particular issue with type 2 diabetes.
Glucokinase activators (GKAs) work best with patients who don’t produce enough insulin by determining the rate of glucose metabolism to control levels more effectively.
Some of the drugs within each class of medication have already been approved for use in the European Union and may soon bring better treatment for patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
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