Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a greatly increased risk of cardiovascular disease. An increasing need for glucose-lowering treatments is emphasized by the almost inevitable failure of monotherapy and occurrence of weight gain. Recently, novel classes of drugs derived from the incretin system have been introduced into the management of T2D. Recent advances in the field of incretin-based therapies in the management of T2D were discussed at the 45th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held from September 29 until October 2, 2009, in Vienna, Austria.