A new class of once-daily tablets has been found to considerably reduce premature deaths in Type 2 Diabetes patients.
A major study was published in early February 2026 by researchers at
University College London (UCL) and the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
The study suggests that wider use of
SGLT-2 inhibitors (also known as “gliflozins”) could
prevent approximately 20,000 deaths every year
in the UK.
Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors represent a significant shift in diabetes care, as major studies suggest it could reduce the risk of premature death by approximately 24%.
The researchers describe the once-daily SGLT-2 inhibitor tablets as working “very well” for a wide range of patients.
This follows the
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) endorsing them as a
first-line treatment in August 2025, signing a major change in diabetes care.
Type 2 diabetes is a condition that causes high blood sugar because of insulin resistance or not enough insulin being produced by the body.
As well as lifestyle changes and changes to a patient’s diet, treatment can also include some medication designed to create more insulin to combat high blood sugar count.
Instead of forcing the body to create more insulin, the SGLT-2 inhibitor drug works to reduce blood sugar by helping the kidneys remove glucose.
The drug has shown to also protect the heart and kidneys, which offers further benefits beyond blood sugar control.
At the time of writing, availability of this new treatment is yet to be announced; however, these advances aim to make treatment simpler, more effective, and are designed to prevent long-term damage, not just in the management of daily symptoms.
More
information can be found at the UCL
website.