Saxagliptin: a clinical review in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Some conventional therapies for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) fail to address the progressive nature of the disease, and as a result, they may become ineffective in maintaining normoglycemia. Antihyperglycemic agents have been developed to target incretin hormones, specifically glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1. Incretin analogues and agents that delay GLP-1 degradation, the dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP)-4 inhibitors, offer mechanisms of action that may improve T2DM management. Saxagliptin was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2009 and by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency in October 2009 for use as monotherapy or in combination regimens for the treatment of T2DM.