The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has accepted linagliptin film-coated tablet (Trajenta®) for use within NHS Scotland in combination with metformin when diet and exercise plus metformin alone does not provide adequate glycaemic control in patients for whom the addition of a sulphonylurea is inappropriate.  The Committee was unable to recommend its use within the other licensed indications (as monotherapy or in combination with metformin and a sulphonylurea), as the company’s submission related only to its use in combination with metformin.

The drug advice summarises the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness data submitted by the company and considered by the Committee (please see the link below for details).  This notes that linagliptin is one of a number of medicines in this class (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 [DPP-4] inhibitors), some of which are available at a lower acquisition cost.