Insights into the early use of oral semaglutide in routine clinical practice: The IGNITE study

Abstract

Oral semaglutide is the first oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, and showed significant benefits in glycaemic control and weight reduction versus active comparators in the PIONEER phase 3a randomized controlled trial programme. In this retrospective study, we present early data on the use of oral semaglutide in clinical practice, from the US IBM Explorys electronic health record database. In 782 patients prescribed oral semaglutide, 54.5% were women, and the mean age (SD) was 57.8 years (11.3); 66.0% of patients received their prescription from a primary care practitioner. Although prescribing information recommends increasing the dose to 7 mg after 30 days, 37.0% of patients received a prescription only for the initial 3 mg dose. Mean body mass index was 36.2 kg/m2 (7.6); mean HbA1c was 8.4% (1.8%). Mean HbA1c change from baseline to approximately 6 months after oral semaglutide initiation was −0.9% (95% CI: −1.1%; −0.6%), with greater reductions in patients with higher baseline HbA1c. These data indicate prevalent early adoption of oral semaglutide in primary care, show real-world improvements in glycaemic control, and identify potential treatment gaps.