Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To understand longitudinal Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) utilization in the United States (US) before and after 2021, when GLP-1 treatment was approved for obesity.
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized US claims data from Forian’s Data Product, CHRONOS^TM, a nationally representative, integrated open and closed claims hybrid ecosystem, from 2017 to 2023 were used in this retrospective cohort study. Adult patients who were treated with a GLP-1 were included in the analysis. Volumes were aggregated quarterly and annually and normalized to the dataset population, to observe utilization trends and measure growth.
RESULTS: Compared to the first quarter of 2021, which includes January through March, GLP-1s indicated for diabetes saw 2.15x and 2.31x increases in patient and prescription volumes, respectively, in the last quarter of 2023, including October through December. Overall, the GLP-1 patient volume in the US grew by 3.06x from the first quarter of 2021 to the last quarter of 2023, while the overall prescription volume grew by 3.36x.
CONCLUSIONS: Utilization of GLP-1s in the US has increased dramatically since 2021, likely driven by the expansion of treatment to include obese patients. Additional research will assess and compare longitudinal differences in specific GLP-1s and age- and gender-specific rates in the US.