How Diabetes Medicines Work

Anterior view · tap an organ

Pancreasmakes insulin

Aotearoa New ZealandFundedIf approvedPay for thisNot often used

Watch the story

Tap a medicine — a short picture will play

Four easy steps. You will see where it goes, what it does, and how sugar in the blood comes down.

Inside the pancreas

After a meal, sugar goes into a pancreas cell. That cell sends insulin out. Three medicines tap this story at different steps — tap one to see.

01Sugar after a mealSugar in the blood rises. That is the signal.
02Sugar enters the cellA door lets sugar into the pancreas cell that makes insulin.
03The cell makes energyThe cell burns that sugar and makes energy.
04Energy risesHigh energy means: time to send insulin out.
05A door closesGliclazide can close this door even if sugar is not high.
06The cell wakes upClosing the door changes the cell so the next step can happen.
07A trigger comes inThat trigger says: release the insulin that is packed and ready.
08Insulin goes outInsulin enters the blood and sugar can leave into the body.

A simple picture of the same story. Tap a medicine above to watch it.

Aotearoa New Zealand

Common type 2 diabetes medicines in Aotearoa. Tap a row to watch how it works. Funding as of September 2026.

NZ medicine	Funding	Acts on	What happens
Metforminthe everyday first tablet	MetforminFunded MetforminFunded	Liver	Tells the liver to make less sugar, so less sugar goes into the blood.
Empagliflozin (Jardiance)sugar out in the wee	Empagliflozin (Jardiance)If approved Empagliflozin + metformin (Jardiamet)If approved Dapagliflozin (Forxiga)Pay for this	Kidney	Helps the kidney let extra sugar leave in wee, instead of taking it back into the blood.
Acarboseslows sugar from a meal	AcarboseNot often used	Gut	Slows the breakdown of starchy food, so sugar from a meal trickles in instead of rushing in.
Pioglitazone (Vexazone)helps the body hear insulin	Pioglitazone (Vexazone)Funded	Fat cells	Helps fat and muscle hear insulin more clearly, so they take sugar out of the blood.
Gliclazideasks the pancreas for insulin	GliclazideFunded Glipizide (Minidiab)Funded GlibenclamideFunded	Pancreas	Tells the pancreas to send out more insulin, so sugar can leave the blood.
Dulaglutide (Trulicity)a weekly injection	Dulaglutide (Trulicity)If approved Liraglutide (Victoza)If approved Semaglutide (Ozempic)Pay for this	Pancreas	Copies a gut signal that says: if sugar is high, send out insulin.
Vildagliptin (Galvus)protects your own hormone	Vildagliptin (Galvus)Funded Vildagliptin + metformin (Galvumet)Funded	Pancreas	Protects a natural gut signal so it lasts longer and can ask the pancreas for insulin.

Aotearoa New ZealandFundedIf approvedPay for thisNot often used

Names follow New Zealand funding as of September 2026. Not a list of what you should take — ask your nurse, GP, or PICTBOP.