Drug class
SGLT2 Inhibitors: medications in this class
Diabetes medications that prevent glucose reabsorption in the kidneys.
Overview
The kidneys normally reabsorb all the glucose they filter. SGLT2 inhibitors block the transporter responsible, so glucose leaves in the urine. The blood sugar effect is modest, but large trials showed fewer heart failure hospitalisations and slower kidney decline, and the class is now prescribed for heart failure and chronic kidney disease in people with or without diabetes.
Empagliflozin (Jardiance) and dapagliflozin (Farxiga) are the most used; canagliflozin (Invokana) and ertugliflozin are alternatives. Genital yeast infections, urinary infections, dehydration and low blood pressure are the common side effects, and a rare risk of ketoacidosis means they are paused around surgery and serious illness.
They are sold in combinations with metformin and with DPP-4 inhibitors, which are separate products with their own prices.
How the drugs in this class differ when you pay cash
This class is in transition. Generic competition has started to reach some of its members and is expected for others as patents expire, but what a given pharmacy can actually order changes month to month. A cash-paying patient should ask the pharmacy explicitly whether it is quoting brand or generic, and whether it can order the other; the Orange Book shows what has been approved.
While brand-priced, every pharmacy pays a similar wholesale cost and the quote differs by margin, so independents often price closer to cost. The manufacturers’ patient assistance programmes are the first stop for uninsured patients. Combination tablets with metformin can cost more than the two separately.
When paying cash beats a copay, and when it does not
Insurance with the manufacturer co-pay card beats cash while the drug is brand-only. Once a pharmacy can dispense a generic, cash quotes fall sharply and can undercut a brand copay; ask each pharmacy which it has.
Conditions treated
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Heart Failure
Medications
Which of these is right for a given person is a decision for the prescriber. The guides explain what each drug is, how it is supplied, and why its cash price varies between pharmacies. No page on this site shows a price; prices come from pharmacies responding to your actual prescription.
Questions worth asking
- Is a generic available for my prescription yet, and does it allow substitution?
- Do I qualify for the manufacturer assistance programme?
- How do I reduce the risk of yeast and urinary infections?
- When should I pause it, for example before surgery or if I am ill and not eating?
- Should I take it in the morning?
How Script Unlock gets you a cash price for a SGLT2 Inhibitors prescription
Prices on this site come from pharmacies responding to a real prescription. We do not publish estimated, average or "typical" prices, because none of those would be your price.
- 1You upload your prescription
A photo of your a SGLT2 Inhibitors prescription prescription is enough. Nothing is sold on the site; you are asking pharmacies to quote.
- 2Licensed pharmacies respond
Pharmacies that Script Unlock has verified see the request and each can reply with its own cash price for your exact drug, strength and quantity.
- 3You choose and pay the pharmacy
You compare the responses, pick a pharmacy, and pay that pharmacy directly when you collect. Script Unlock never takes a patient payment and never sets the price.
Sources
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- FDA Orange Book (approved generics and therapeutic equivalence)
- MedlinePlus drug information (National Library of Medicine)
Written by the Script Unlock editorial team from the sources above. Not yet reviewed by an independent pharmacist. Last checked 2026-10-03.
Script Unlock is a marketplace that lets licensed pharmacies quote a cash price on your prescription. It does not prescribe, dispense or sell medication, does not process patient payments, and does not give medical advice. Always follow the instructions of your prescriber and pharmacist and read the medication guide supplied with your medicine.