Metaglip
Glipizide and metformin hydrochlorideDrag to rotate. Scroll or pinch to zoom.
Combines two diabetes medicines in one tablet: glipizide, which prompts the pancreas to release more insulin, and metformin, which tells the liver to release less sugar into the blood and helps the body use insulin more effectively.
How it works
This combination puts two diabetes medicines into one tablet, and they work in different ways. Glipizide prompts the pancreas to release more insulin, particularly after meals. Metformin works on the liver and muscles instead, telling the liver to release less sugar into the blood and helping the body use insulin more effectively. Because glipizide pushes insulin release directly, it carries a higher risk of blood sugar dropping too low (hypoglycemia) than metformin alone does.
What it’s used for
This combination is prescribed, alongside diet and exercise, to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar using two medicines in one pill instead of two separate prescriptions. Because it contains metformin, it carries a boxed warning — the FDA's strongest safety warning — about a rare but serious condition called lactic acidosis. It was originally sold as Metaglip, which is no longer on the market, but the same combination is still available generically.
- Mechanism
- Sulfonylurea + biguanide (fixed-dose combination)
- Drug class
- Fixed-dose combination
- Therapeutic area
- Metabolic / Diabetes