Two pharmaceutical manufacturers have joined together to create a new diabetes medication. While this may be welcome news to those looking for new treatment options, patients and physicians should be aware of possible side effects.

Some individuals with type-2 Diabetes are able to reduce their blood glucose by carefully controlling their diet and getting moderate exercise. For others, lifestyle changes are not enough to bring blood sugar down to a safe level, so oral medications are often used. Still others may not respond to the oral medications and are given insulin as an adjunct therapy or in place of oral prescriptions.

Oral diabetes medications are commonly prescribed, due to their ease of use and patients’ mostly positive response to diabetes treatment. Sometimes doctors choose to use two drugs in combination to achieve more desirable effects. Drug manufacturers took note of this combination therapy and developed Glyxambi, the first combination diabetes drug pill of its kind.

Diabetes Combination Drug Glyxambi

The FDA approved Glyxambi, a combination drug containing empagliflozin and linagliptin, early in 2015 for the treatment of type-2 Diabetes. The drug manufacturers Boehringer Ingelheim, makers of linagliptin, and Eli Lilly, makers of empagliflozin, joined together to make this combination pill possible.

Linagliptin (known as trade name Tradjenta) is an oral medication to be used along with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar levels. It is a DPP-4 inhibitor, and works by increasing natural substances in the body when blood sugar is high.

Empagliflozin (known as Jardinace) is also an oral medication, and works to lower blood plasma glucose levels by causing more glucose to be excreted in the urine. It is a SGLT2 inhibitor which works through the kidneys, causing the reabsorption of glucose into the kidneys to be blocked, and thus the glucose is excreted instead.

Having abnormally high blood sugar with Type-2 Diabetes can cause individuals to develop serious or even life-threatening complications. Common issues that result from consistently elevated blood sugar levels include stroke, heart disease, peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage), and vision changes or vision loss. Additional diabetes-related complications include kidney failure, decreased sexual ability and periodontal disease.

Glyxambi Side Effects

Glyxambi has more side effects and contraindications than some other oral diabetic medications because it contains two drugs acting on various biochemical processes in the body.

Common side effects include:

• Urinary tract infection
• Yeast infection
• Respiratory infection

More serious side effects include:

• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), which can be severe and possibly fatal
• Ketoacidosis, a condition that is a combination of ketosis (accumulation of ketones and ketone bodies in the blood) and acidosis (increased acidity in the blood). This is a medical emergency requiring hospitalization.
• Kidney disease or kidney failure
• Dehydration

As Glyxambi becomes a more popular choice for controlling diabetes, more patients may report severe side effects and some may contemplate filing lawsuits.