Category
Type 2 diabetes medications and what the FDA label actually says
Type 2 diabetes is where most of the best-known medications of the last decade actually hold their approvals. Ozempic, Mounjaro, Victoza and Trulicity are all approved for type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss, even though they are discussed as weight loss medications far more often. Their pages live under weight loss on this site and are listed here as well, because this is what their labels cover.
The newer classes reach beyond blood sugar. The labels of Jardiance and Farxiga carry separate indications for heart failure and for chronic kidney disease, in some cases in people who do not have diabetes at all. Which document says what is exactly the kind of thing this catalog exists to keep straight.
Nothing here is a recommendation. Treatment of diabetes is built by a clinician for a particular person, and every label on these pages says so in its own words.
- Medications
- 8
- FDA approved for this
- 8
- FDA labels read
- 12
- Comparisons
- 3
- Carry a boxed warning
- 5
Two labels, side by side
- FarxigavsJardianceFarxiga (dapagliflozin) and Jardiance (empagliflozin) cover diabetes, heart failure and kidney disease. Where the two FDA labels align, differ - and which has generics.
- JardiancevsOzempic injectionJardiance (empagliflozin) is a daily tablet acting in the kidney; Ozempic (semaglutide) a weekly injection acting on gut hormones. The two diabetes labels compared.
- JardiancevsMetformin hydrochlorideMetformin is the decades-old generic biguanide; Jardiance a brand-only SGLT2 inhibitor with heart and kidney indications. The two diabetes labels compared.
FDA approvals and boxed warnings across this category
Built from the 12 labels linked on the pages below, so it cannot drift from them. A boxed warning is the strongest warning the FDA requires, and where several medications carry the same one, it belongs to the class rather than to the product.
| Medication | Class | Approved for type 2 diabetes | Boxed warning | Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EmpagliflozinJardiance | ClassSGLT2 inhibitor | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| DapagliflozinFarxiga | ClassSGLT2 inhibitor | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| SitagliptinJanuvia | ClassDPP-4 inhibitor | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| SemaglutideWegovy, Ozempic injection, Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets | ClassGLP-1 receptor agonist | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warning
| SupplyPrescription |
| TirzepatideZepbound, Mounjaro | ClassGIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warning
| SupplyPrescription |
| LiraglutideSaxenda, Victoza | ClassGLP-1 receptor agonist | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warning
| SupplyPrescription |
| DulaglutideTrulicity | ClassGLP-1 receptor agonist | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warning
| SupplyPrescription |
| Metformin hydrochlorideMetformin hydrochloride | ClassBiguanide | Approved for type 2 diabetesYes | Boxed warning
| SupplyPrescription |
Approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes
Each of these has at least one FDA approval covering this use.
- Empagliflozin
SGLT2 inhibitor. Sold as Jardiance.
Empagliflozin is sold as Jardiance, and its label reaches well beyond blood sugar. Alongside improving glycemic control in type 2 diabetes, it is approved to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization in adults with heart failure, and to slow the decline of kidney function in adults with chronic kidney disease - the last two regardless of whether the person has diabetes.
- Dapagliflozin
SGLT2 inhibitor. Sold as Farxiga.
Dapagliflozin is sold as Farxiga and, unlike its closest neighbour Jardiance, already has FDA-approved generics. The label covers type 2 diabetes in adults and children aged 10 and older, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease - and, as with Jardiance, the heart and kidney indications stand on their own, without requiring diabetes.
- Sitagliptin
DPP-4 inhibitor. Sold as Januvia.
Sitagliptin is sold as Januvia and holds one indication: improving glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes, as an adjunct to diet and exercise. It is the narrowest label in this category - no cardiovascular or kidney indications, no pediatric use - and its label states the limitations plainly.
- Semaglutide
GLP-1 receptor agonist. Sold as Wegovy, Ozempic injection, Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets.
Semaglutide is sold in the United States under three brand names, and they are not interchangeable. Only Wegovy is approved for weight management. Ozempic and Rybelsus are approved for type 2 diabetes, and weight loss is not listed as an approved use in their labels.
- Tirzepatide
GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. Sold as Zepbound, Mounjaro.
Tirzepatide is sold under two brand names with two different approvals. Zepbound is approved for weight management and for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes. The active ingredient is identical.
- Liraglutide
GLP-1 receptor agonist. Sold as Saxenda, Victoza.
Liraglutide was the first GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight management. Saxenda carries that approval; Victoza, the same ingredient at lower maximum doses, is approved for type 2 diabetes. Both are injected once a day rather than once a week.
- Dulaglutide
GLP-1 receptor agonist. Sold as Trulicity.
Dulaglutide is the GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as Trulicity, injected once a week. Unlike semaglutide and tirzepatide, it has no second brand approved for weight management: there is one label, and weight loss is not among its approved uses.
- Metformin hydrochloride
Biguanide. Sold as Metformin hydrochloride.
Metformin is a first-line medication for type 2 diabetes and one of the most widely prescribed medicines in the world. It is often mentioned in discussions of weight, but its FDA label does not list weight loss among the approved uses, and no metformin product has been approved for it.