Monitoring report: GLP-1 RA prescribing trends

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Authors: Samuel Gratzl, PhD Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA, Patricia J. Rodriguez, PhD MPH Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA, Brianna M. Goodwin Cartwright Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA, Charlotte Baker, DrPH MPH  Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA , Duy Do, PhD Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA, Nicholas L. Stucky, MD PhD Truveta, Inc, Bellevue, WA
Date: April 18, 2024

Abstract

Background

Limited recent data exist on prescribing patterns and patient characteristics for glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), an important drug class used as anti-diabetic medication (ADM) for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and/or anti-obesity medication (AOM) in patients with overweight or obesity.

For brevity, we use the term GLP-1 RA to refer to both GLP-1 RA and dual GLP-1 RA/GIP medications.

Objective

To describe recent trends in prescribing and dispensing of GLP-1-based medications in the US.

Cumulative rate of GLP-1 RA medication prescriptions over time including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Trulicity and others using EHR data
Methods

Using a subset of real-world electronic health record (EHR) data from Truveta, a growing collective of health systems that provide more than 18% of all daily clinical care in the US, we identified patients who were prescribed a GLP-1-based medication between January 01, 2018 and June 30, 2024. We describe prescribing volumes and patient characteristics over time, by medication, and by FDA-labeled use. Among the subset of patients for whom post-prescription dispensing data are available, we describe the proportion and characteristics of patients who were and were not dispensed a GLP-1 RA following their prescription.

Results

1,162,662 patients were prescribed a GLP-1 RA between January 2018 and June 2024, with 4,815,135 total prescriptions during this period. Among first-time prescriptions for which use could be established, ADMs accounted for 83.0% and AOMs accounted for 17.0%. The most common first-time medication was semaglutide (n = 644,272). Among those with available data, 70.0% of first-time ADM prescriptions overall and 73.7% in March 2024 had a fill within 60 days. By comparison, 43.6% of first-time AOM prescriptions overall and 47.2% in March 2024 had a fill within 60 days.