"New type 2 diabetes drugs could stop kidney failure and save lives but not yet within reach for many" headlines this Bridie Witton article which was published in Stuff. The article describes how big a difference the new diabetes medications can potentially make, and how they are shown to prevent complications and make life better for people with diabetes. Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Board member, Graham King, describes his own experience and highlights how access to what is a major life-changer is limited by whether you can afford the treatment yourself.
Our Board Chair Dr John Baker puts the case that with older drugs the cost of premature deaths and impacts on our health system, kidney dialysis in particular, means that these medications would end up less expensive to the health system. He is quoted in the article as saying "The old drugs don't stop people dying and developing and kidney failure. The new drugs do. It just doesn’t make sense"
