Utilization Patterns of Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes in France and Italy

OBJECTIVES: To characterize dosing patterns of dulaglutide and subcutaneous (s.c.) semaglutide in France and Italy.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Data in France and Italy. Adults with evidence of type 2 diabetes were eligible if they were prescribed a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) of interest during the patient selection window (August 2020 - December 2022). If patients were naïve to GLP-1 RA, they were assigned to cohort 1 (incident users), otherwise, to cohort 2 (prevalent users). The first prescription during the study period was defined as index date, and the dosage formulation distribution of dulaglutide and s.c. semaglutide was characterized over the follow-up period at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months post-index date.

RESULTS: In France, 255,571 adults were eligible for study inclusion, 52% were in cohorts 1 and 48% in cohort 2. At 12-months post-index, 79%, 8% and 3% of dulaglutide users (cohort 1 plus cohort 2) were prescribed 1.5 mg, 3.0 mg, and 4.5 mg, respectively. At the same timepoint, 5% of s.c. semaglutide users (cohort 1 plus cohort 2) were prescribed 0.25 mg, while 29% and 66% received the 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg dosage, respectively. In Italy, 312,870 adults were eligible for inclusion, 70% and 30% were in cohorts 1 and 2, respectively. At 12-months post-index, 80% of dulaglutide users (cohort 1 plus cohort 2) were prescribed 1.5 mg, while 2%, 49% and 49% of s.c. semaglutide users (cohort 1 plus cohort 2) received 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: In France and Italy, the most common dosage formulations at 12-months post-index were 1.5 mg for dulaglutide users and 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg for s.c. semaglutide users.