TOPLINE:

Tirzepatide was associated with greater body weight reductions than semaglutide in adults with obesity or overweight and related complications.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed the Truveta electronic health records database of US adults with obesity or overweight and at least one obesity-related complication, but without diabetes.
• Propensity score weights for continuous outcomes were estimated from a generalized treatment model, adjusting for baseline demographics and clinical and socioeconomic factors.
• Outcome models were further adjusted for baseline age and weight, sex, race, ethnicity, number of obesity-related comorbidities during baseline, and other medication use during baseline.

TAKEAWAY:

• Tirzepatide was associated with a greater mean percent reduction in body weight from baseline vs semaglutide over 12 months in the on-treatment cohort that escalated to ≥ 10 mg tirzepatide or ≥ 1.7 mg semaglutide.
• Tirzepatide was associated with a higher likelihood of achieving body weight reduction targets (≥ 10%, ≥ 15%, ≥ 20%, and ≥ 25%) than semaglutide at 12 months in the same cohort.
• The findings aligned with the body weight reduction results seen in the head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial under maximum tolerated dosing (tirzepatide 10 mg or 15 mg and semaglutide 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg).
• The findings persisted among patients who were adherent to treatment, regardless of dose, as well as among patients who were not adherent.

IN PRACTICE:

“The findings from this real-world study may help clinicians and patients set treatment expectations and inform the selection of obesity management medications to meet individual needs,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The poster was displayed at the Obesity Medical Association annual conference April 10-12 in San Diego.

LIMITATIONS:

The study had several limitations. It focused on patients from the Truveta electronic health records who met specific selection criteria, which could have limited the generalizability of the findings. There could have been unobserved bias or systematic differences in baseline cardiovascular risk profiles between treatment groups due to preferential use of semaglutide in patients with higher cardiovascular risk. Supply restraints for both drugs during the study period may have made the findings less generalizable. Furthermore, drug doses were inferred from dispensing records and may not have reflected actual intake.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was funded by Eli Lilly and Company. Several co-authors were Lilly employees or had other financial relationships with the company.

Marilynn Larkin, MA, is an award-winning medical writer and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Medscape Medical News and its sister publication MDedge, The Lancet (where she was a contributing editor), and Reuters Health.