Dosing Patterns of Dulaglutide and Semaglutide in Patients with Type2 Diabetes Mellitus in France and Italy: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Abstract

Type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a complex metabolic disease with several treatment options. Some glucagon-like peptide1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) approved by the European Medicines Agency include dulaglutide, subcutaneous (s.c.) semaglutide, and oral semaglutide. This study examines dulaglutide and semaglutide dosing patterns for T2DM in France and Italy. IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Data identified adults with T2DM prescribed dulaglutide or semaglutide between August 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Cohort1 (incident) and cohort2 (prevalent) users were followed for 12months. In France and Italy, 255,571 and 350,853 patients, respectively, received at least one study GLP-1 RA. Most dulaglutide-naïve patients in France (62%) and approximately half in Italy (49%) started on 1.5mg and remained on this dose for up to 12months (France: 66% cohort1, 88% cohort2; Italy: 73% cohort1, 87% cohort2). In cohort1, s.c. semaglutide users mostly started on 0.25mg (France, 78%; Italy, 61%). At 12months, s.c. semaglutide 1.0mg was most prescribed (France: 58% cohort1, 75% cohort2; Italy: 59% cohort2), with cohort1 in Italy mostly receiving 0.5mg (57%). Most oral semaglutide users in Italy started on 3.0mg (78% cohort1; 68% cohort2), which was increased to 7.0mg (62% cohort1) and 14.0mg (48% cohort2) at 12months. GLP-1 RA dosing patterns, although similar between France and Italy, were heterogeneous over time. As oral semaglutide and higher dulaglutide doses are recent to the market, additional real-world evidence is required to evaluate utilization patterns. Graphical abstract available for this article.