Greater Adherence and Persistence with Injectable Dulaglutide Compared with Injectable Semaglutide at 1-Year Follow-up: Data from US Clinical Practice

PURPOSE: Greater medication adherence and persistence have been associated with improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study compared adherence, persistence, and treatment patterns among patients naïve to glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists initiating once-weekly injectable treatment with dulaglutide versus semaglutide over 6-month (6M) and 12-month (12M) follow-up periods. METHODS: This retrospective, observational cohort study used administrative claims data from three IBM MarketScan research databases. Data from adult patients with type 2 diabetes newly initiating treatment with dulaglutide or semaglutide between January 2018 and January 2020 (index date was defined as the earliest fill date), without evidence of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist use in the 6M baseline period, and with continuous enrollment in the 6M baseline and 6M or 12M follow-up period were included. Dulaglutide initiators were propensity score-matched, in a 1:1 ratio, to semaglutide initiators in each 6M and 12M follow-up cohort (26,284 and 13,837 pairs, respectively). FINDINGS: In the matched cohorts, baseline characteristics were balanced; the mean age was 53 years, and 50% of patients were women. Compared to semaglutide initiators, dulaglutide initiators were more adherent (6M, 63.4% vs 47.8%; 12M, 54.4% vs 43.3%; both, P < 0.0001), more persistent on therapy (6M, 72% vs 62%, 12M, 55.5% vs 45.3%, both, P < 0.001), and had more mean days of persistence (6M, 145 vs 132, 12M, 254.3 vs 220.7; both, P < 0.001). IMPLICATIONS: At both 6M and 12M follow-up, dulaglutide initiators had significantly greater adherence and greater persistence compared with matched semaglutide initiators.