Introduction
The fixed-dose combination of the active ingredients dapagliflozin and metformin (trade name: Xigduo) has been approved in Germany since January 2014 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults who can't lower their blood sugar levels enough through diet and exercise alone.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease that affects many parts of the body. In type 2 diabetes, the still produces enough insulin at first, but the body’s cells gradually lose the ability to absorb and use the insulin. If blood sugar levels cannot be lowered enough by changes in diet and exercise habits, blood-sugar-lowering medications are used.
The combination is suitable for people in whom metformin alone isn't helping enough or for people who already take dapagliflozin and metformin as separate tablets. It can also be used together with other blood-sugar-lowering drugs, including insulin, if metformin and those drugs are not enough.