Cost

  • high
  • low
  • moderate

Medication Type

  • injected
  • oral

Feature

  • generic available

Drug Class

  • alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
  • amylin analog
  • biguanides
  • bile acid sequestrants
  • dopamine-2 agonists
  • dpp-4 inhibitors
  • glp-1 receptor agonists
  • insulin + glp-1 receptor agonists
  • meglitinides
  • mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist
  • sglt-2 inhibitors
  • sulfonylureas
  • tzds

Oral/Injectable Medications and Infusions

There are dozens of oral and non-insulin injectable medications that help manage blood glucose (blood sugar). Most of these medications are for people with type 2 diabetes. Some come in pill form, while others are injected.

Which medication (or combination of medications) is best for you? That's a decision you'll need to make with your diabetes care team. Factors such as current glucose trends, your lifestyle, whether you have heart disease, and cost considerations all play a role in the decision-making process. 

Medications are listed as: Brand name (generic name)


Actos (pioglitazone)

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Amaryl (glimepiride)

Sanofi U.S.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Avandia (rosiglitazone)

GlaxoSmithKline

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Byetta (exenatide)

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

CYCLOSET (bromocriptine)

VeroScience, LLC

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

FARXIGA (dapagliflozin)

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Glucotrol (glipizide)

Pfizer Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Glucotrol XL (glipizide extended release)

Pfizer Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Glyburide

generic

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Glynase PresTab (glyburide, glibenclamide)

Pfizer Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Glyset (miglitol)

Pfizer Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

INVOKANA (canagliflozin)

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

JANUMET (sitagliptin and metformin)

Merck & Co., Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

JANUVIA (sitagliptin)

Merck & Co., Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

JARDIANCE (empagliflozin)

Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

KERENDIA (finerenone)

Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Metformin

generic

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Mounjaro (tirzepatide)

Eli Lilly and Co.

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

Nesina (alogliptin)

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

ONGLYZA (saxagliptin)

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Ozempic (semaglutide)

Novo Nordisk

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

Prandin (repaglinide)

generic

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Precose (acarbose)

generic

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

RYBELSUS (semaglutide)

Novo Nordisk

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

SEGLUROMET (ertugliflozin and metformin)

Merck & Co., Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Soliqua 100/33 (insulin glargine/lixisenatide)

Sanofi U.S.

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

Starlix (nateglinide)

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Steglatro (ertugliflozin)

Merck & Co., Inc.

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

SYMLIN (pramlintide acetate)

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

TRADJENTA (linagliptin)

Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly

Oral type 2 diabetes medication

Trijardy XR

Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly

Oral type 2 medication

Trulicity (dulaglutide)

Eli Lilly and Co.

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

Victoza (liraglutide)

Novo Nordisk

Injectable type 2 diabetes medication

Welchol (colesevelam HCI)

Daiichi Sankyo

Oral type 2 diabetes medication