Type 2 diabetes: NICE announces major changes to treatment that could help millions live longer

Credit: Getty Images/AndreyPopov

By Claudia Tanner

Millions of people with type 2 diabetes could live longer, healthier lives under new recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that fundamentally change how the condition is treated.

In final guidance published on Wednesday, people with type 2 diabetes will be offered a type of medicine called an SGLT-2 inhibitor, known as 'flozins', much earlier in their treatment. Analysis by NICE suggests the changes could prevent around 17,000 deaths over a three-year period across the UK by reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems.

The NHS is also set to save millions of pounds because one of the most commonly prescribed SGLT-2 medicines, dapagliflozin, is now available as a clinically equivalent generic version. The estimated cumulative savings for 2025/26 and 2026/27 from generic dapagliflozin would be £560 million, which could be reinvested in other areas of diabetes care or elsewhere in the NHS.