Scottish GPs have wider diabetes treatment options

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has approved a new type of type 2 diabetes drug, giving GPs in Scotland wider choice over what they prescribe to type 2 diabetics .
The SMC accepted sitaglipti, one of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, to treat people with type 2 diabetes . The drug is now approved to be combined with metformin and sulphonylurea when traditional methods of diet and exercise fail to provide adequate blood sugar control.
Despite this approval, sitagliptin is not yet recommended for use with thiazolidinediones. Hopefully, the approval will give people with diabetes in Scotland a better chance of controlling blood glucose levels.
The SMC is the Scottish equivalent of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in America. They have the power to approve or deny the prescription of drugs in Scotland for all diseases, including type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. To pass scrutiny and gain approval, companies marketing diabetes drugs have to go through a complex process of clinical trials.