Several drugs are available for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but few patients achieve and maintain glycaemic control without weight gain and hypoglycaemias. Sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are an emerging class of drugs with an original mechanism of action involving inhibition of renal glucose reabsorption. Two agents of this class, dapagliflozin and canagliflozin, have already been approved, although we need more data on cardiovascular outcomes along with bladder and breast cancer. Tofogliflozin is a further SGLT-2 inhibitor, which exhibits the highest selectivity for SGLT-2, the most potent antidiabetic action and a reduced risk of hypoglycaemia. Recently, a 52-week, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial in Japanese T2DM patients has shown that tofogliflozin exhibits adequate safety and efficacy as monotherapy or as add-on treatment in patients suboptimally controlled with oral agents. Despite the very promising characteristics of this new drug, important questions remain to be answered, mainly additional data on safety outcomes and potential beneficial effects of tofogliflozin, for instance in prediabetes and diabetic nephropathy. Moreover, it would be welcome to examine the utility of its therapeutic use in combination with insulin and metformin.
Keywords: SGLT-2 inhibitors; oral hypoglycaemic agents; tofogliflozin; treatment; type 2 diabetes mellitus.