OBJECTIVES: Once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4mg is approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity (or overweight with ≥1 weight-related comorbidity). This study describes real-world treatment patterns of semaglutide 2.4mg for 6 months following medication initiation when availability of escalation and maintenance doses were limited.

METHODS: This was a non-interventional, retrospective cohort study conducted using the IQVIA PharMetrics Plus administrative claims database. The study population was patients aged ≥18 years with ≥1 filled prescription for semaglutide 2.4mg (starting dose: 0.25mg or 0.5mg) between 06/15/2021–09/30/2021 (patient identification period). Date of first prescription fill of semaglutide 2.4mg starting dose was the index date. Patients with 6 months’ insurance enrollment pre- and post-index date were included. Demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed 6 months pre-index date. The primary endpoints were the proportion of patients reaching the 2.4mg maintenance dose, time from treatment initiation to this maintenance dose and persistence rates within a 6-month post-index period.

RESULTS: Of the 1699 eligible patients, 79.8% were female and mean age was 47.2 years (SD 10.3). Among patients with non-missing BMI data (n=812), mean BMI was 39.6 kg/m² (SD 8.6). The most prevalent comorbidities in the total population were hypertension (36.7%), dyslipidemia (36.0%) and musculoskeletal pain (34.7%). Overall, 42.1% of patients initiating semaglutide reached the 2.4mg maintenance dose within 6 months. Median time to reach maintenance dose was 105 days (IQR: 76.5–127.0) and ~50% of patients who initiated semaglutide 2.4mg remained on therapy at 6 months compared with persistence rates of 16–42% for other anti-obesity medications in the literature.

CONCLUSIONS: These real-world findings suggest that, despite supply shortage in the first year of semaglutide 2.4mg availability in the US, half of patients remained on therapy at 6 months, and nearly half reached the maintenance dose. Future research on treatment patterns may be warranted once supply is fully restored.