Based on: Type 2 Diabetes — gene targets, candidate compounds and trials, OSMF Research Tracker (DGIdb, Open Targets, ChEMBL, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov data). Numbers are a snapshot taken 8 October 2026; the tracker page is the live version.
Short answer: as of October 2026, the OSMF Research Tracker lists 56 candidate interventions for type 2 Diabetes that are either approved medicines or have at least one registered clinical trial, built on 12 druggable gene targets, with 14 recent trials on ClinicalTrials.gov. 14 are already approved medicines, for this condition or another one; where the approval is for a different condition, the trial is testing a new use, which is what drug repurposing means. Being in a trial says an intervention is being studied, not that it works; that is what the trial is for.
Which candidates have the most trial activity?
Ranked by the number of registered trials the tracker found. Each trial ID links to the registry entry, where you can read the design, status and sponsor.
- Dapagliflozin — 4 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00839683 NCT01042977 NCT03074630
- Glimepiride — 3 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00747383 NCT02769481 NCT00099944
- metformin — 3 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT01941199 NCT02119819 NCT06120881
- Semaglutide — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT07564414 NCT00833716
- simvastatin — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00839683
- vildagliptin — 2 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT00237237 NCT00099944
- Technosphere® Insulin Inhalation Powder — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT00662857
- Bexagliflozin — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT02769481
- Finerenone — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT06727409
- Liraglutide — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT01558271
- Metformin hydrochloride — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT01386671
- Pioglitazone — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT00331487
Which gene targets are these built on?
The tracker starts from genes with evidence of being druggable in type 2 Diabetes and asks which compounds act on them. Each symbol links to its DGIdb entry, which lists the interacting drugs and the papers behind them: ADIPOQ, DPP4, FOXO1, GCGR, GLP1R, INSR, IRS1, LEPR, PPARG, PRKAA1, SLC2A4, SLC5A2.
Which trials are registered?
- Switching to E-Cigarettes After Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis and Health Outcomes NCT07414355 · Completed · started 2018-01-01
- A Study of Clazakizumab (LY5724886) in Adults With Elevated hsCRP and at Increased Risk for Cardiovascular Event NCT07783802 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE2 · started 2026-08-27
- Comparing The Effect Of Empagliflozin With Dapagliflozin In Reducing Proteinuria In Diabetic Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease With eGFR More Than 45ml/Min/1.73m² NCT07866235 · Completed · Phase NA · started 2023-10-11
- EValuation Of poLygenic Scores and CT imAging In Risk Factor Modification in Patients With diabEtes NCT07091162 · Completed · Phase NA · started 2023-07-25
- Effects of Different Fish Oil Types on Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factors in High-Risk Adults NCT07575438 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE2 · started 2026-10-05
- Probiotics in Obese Patients Treated With Semaglutide NCT07847593 · Completed · Phase NA · started 2025-07-09
- Lowering the Impact of Food Insecurity in African American Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (LIFT-DM) NCT04181424 · Active Not Recruiting · Phase NA · started 2019-12-15
- An Observational Study Called FINE-REAL Korea to Learn More About the Use of the Drug Finerenone in People With Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes in a Routine Medical Care Setting in South Korea NCT07232537 · Active Not Recruiting · started 2025-11-20
- A Study of Eloralintide (LY3841136) in Participants With Obesity or Overweight, and Type 2 Diabetes NCT07282600 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2025-12-15
- A Study to Evaluate the Effects of Enicepatide in Participants With Obesity or Overweight, With or Without Type 2 Diabetes NCT07670416 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2026-07-03
How to read this
Evidence is graded on the tracker page in three tiers: clinical (tested in people), mechanistic (a documented action on the target) and correlative (an association in the literature). Most candidates sit in the lower tiers, and many trials are small or early-phase. The purpose of this list is to show where the research is, with sources, so that patients, clinicians and researchers can look further; it is not a ranking of what to take.
Related on this site
Research information, not medical advice. Decisions about any medicine belong with you and your clinician. The underlying data are open (CC BY 4.0) and refreshed daily; this note was generated from the tracker page on 8 October 2026.