The Journey of Vildagliptin: From Bench to Bedside

Vildagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor has been available for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus for more than a decade. The extensive clinical data support from several vildagliptin clinical trials and real-world studies provided the clinicians with an effective treatment option for lowering blood glucose, which neither causes weight gain nor increased the risk of hypoglycemia and cardiovascular events. This article reviews the development journey of vildagliptin from the proof-of-concept of DPP-4 inhibition from its earlystages in the 1990s to the present, being an extensively studied, well-established DPP-4 inhibitor.The article highlights the clinical effectiveness, safety, and tolerability studies of vildagliptin, which proved vildagliptin as an effective and safe option in the armamentarium of type 2 diabetes mellitus management in this era of evidence-based medical practice. This vildagliptin journey, from proof-of-concept to a very well-established molecule gives a lesson that a novel concept takes time and requires focused efforts, persistence, and long-term perseverance for bringing it into clinical practice.