The new diabetes med, bexagliflozin (Brenzavvy), will pop up on home med lists.
Think of it as similar to other SGLT2 inhibitors for type 2 diabetes...dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, etc.
A big difference is that bexagliflozin will cost about $50/month...versus about $600/month for other SGLT2 inhibitors.
Anticipate hearing that it’ll only be available through a single online pharmacy at first. But keep in mind that distribution will broaden over the next couple of months.
When taking med histories, expect patients who get bexagliflozin to report taking 20 mg po once daily. It comes as 20 mg tablets.
Remember to watch for look-alike/sound-alike errors with SGLT2 inhibitors. Their generic names only differ by the first few letters...bexagliflozin, canagliflozin, sotagliflozin, etc.
Don’t be surprised if any SGLT2 inhibitor that a patient takes at home is switched to a formulary option while they’re in-house.
Or an SGLT2 inhibitor may be held in a patient with unstable kidney function...or other case where risks outweigh benefits.
- Bexagliflozin Efficacy and Safety Trial (BEST) July 14, 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02558296?term=bexagliflozin&rank=3&tab=results (Accessed August 18, 2023).
- Halvorsen YD, Conery AL, Lock JP, et al. Bexagliflozin as an adjunct to metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults: A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1111/dom.15192.
- Allegretti AS, Zhang W, Zhou W, et al. Safety and Effectiveness of Bexagliflozin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Stage 3a/3b CKD. Am J Kidney Dis. 2019 Sep;74(3):328-337.
- Medication pricing by Elsevier, accessed Aug 2023.