Tirzepatide for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes: an endocrine perspective

Christophe De Block, Clifford Bailey, Carol Wysham, Andrea Hemmingway, Sheryl Elaine Allen, Jennifer Peleshok

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Tirzepatide is a novel glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide/glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist approved in the United States as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes and under investigation for use in chronic weight management, major adverse cardiovascular events and the management of other conditions, including heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity and non-cirrhotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The Phase 3 SURPASS 1-5 clinical trial programme was designed to assess efficacy and safety of once-weekly subcutaneously injected tirzepatide (5, 10 and 15 mg), as monotherapy or combination therapy, across a broad spectrum of people with type 2 diabetes. Use of tirzepatide in clinical studies was associated with marked reductions of glycated haemoglobin (−1.87 to −2.59%, −20 to −28 mmol/mol) and body weight (−6.2 to −12.9 kg), as well as reductions in parameters commonly associated with heightened cardiometabolic risk such as blood pressure, visceral adiposity and circulating triglycerides. In SUPRASS-2, these reductions were greater than with the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide 1 mg. Tirzepatide was well tolerated, with a low risk of hypoglycaemia when used without insulin or insulin secretagogues and showed a generally similar safety profile to the GLP-1 receptor agonist class. Accordingly, evidence from these clinical trials suggests that tirzepatide offers a new opportunity for the effective lowering of glycated haemoglobin and body weight in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-17
JournalDiabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
Volume25
Issue number1
Early online date5 Aug 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

© 2022 Eli Lilly and Company and The Authors. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Keywords

  • Endocrinology
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Internal Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Tirzepatide for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes: an endocrine perspective'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this