OBJECTIVES: Tirzepatide (TZP) is a once weekly glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist (RA) approved in the US for treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. This study describes characteristics of patients with T2D in a large US commercially insured population initiating TZP.

METHODS: This retrospective observational study used administrative claims and laboratory data from the Healthcare Integrated Research Database (HIRD®). Adult patients (pts) with T2D having ≥1 Rx claim for TZP from 5/22 to 8/23 and ≥6 months of continuous health plan enrollment before initiation were included. Pts’ baseline demographics and clinical characteristics were described.

RESULTS: The cohort included 37,314 pts (mean age 54 years, 59% female). Over 75% were non-Hispanic White and approximately 10% each were non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latino. HbA1c and BMI data were available for 33% and 23% of patients, respectively. Approximately 58% of pts with available HbA1c data had HbA1c ≥7% at baseline, with 20% at HbA1c ≥9%. Notably, 59% of pts had diagnoses code for overweight/obesity; among pts with available BMI data, approximately 25% each had Class I and Class II and 38% had Class III obesity. Almost 40% were on a single class of antihyperglycemic agents (AHA), while 35% and 12% were on 2 and 3 classes of AHA, respectively. 47% of patients were on GLP-1 RA therapy and 27% were on insulin before TZP initiation.

CONCLUSIONS: More than half of patients with T2D initiating TZP in a commercially insured US population had uncontrolled HbA1c, had overweight/obesity and approximately half were previously on GLP-1 RA therapy indicating potential need for additional glucose control.