Dapagliflozin is an experimental drug as a potential treatment for type 1 and 2 diabetes Although dapagliflozin's method of action would operate on either type of diabetes or other conditions resulting in hyperglycemia, the current clinical trials specifically exclude participants with Type 1 diabetes.

Dapagliflozin inhibits subtype 2 of the sodium-glucose transport proteins (SGLT2), which is responsible for at least 90% of the glucose reabsorption in the kidney. Blocking this transporter causes blood glucose to be eliminated through the urine.