Truveta’s real-world data study compares weight loss drugs tirzepatide and semaglutide

In a new study, Truveta Research showed tirzepatide significantly outperforms semaglutide for weight loss, using real-world data (RWD) from over 100 million patients.

Truveta has announced that its latest study has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study represents the largest comparative analysis to date of tirzepatide (Mounjaro) and semaglutide (Ozempic), using RWD to evaluate their effectiveness for weight loss in patients who are overweight or obese. Both medications are glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist-based (GLP-1 RA) treatments, with tirzepatide also incorporating a gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) component, and both are approved by the FDA for treating type 2 diabetes.

The research found that patients taking tirzepatide were three-times more likely to achieve a 15% weight loss than those on semaglutide. Specifically, the study reported that tirzepatide users were 1.8-times more likely to achieve a 5% weight loss, 2.5-times more likely to reach a 10% weight loss, and 3.2-times more likely to attain a 15% weight loss compared to those taking semaglutide. A related webinar, ‘Enabling timely comparative effectiveness research: head-to-head analysis of GLP-1s for weight loss’, sponsored by Truveta, explores the comparative effectiveness research of GLP-1 medications like tirzepatide and semaglutide.

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WEBINAR: Enabling timely comparative effectiveness research: head-to-head analysis of GLP-1s for weight loss – VIEW ON DEMAND

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The study leveraged data from Truveta Research, which aggregates electronic health record (EHR) information from over 100 million patients across more than 30 US health systems. This extensive dataset, updated daily, provides a comprehensive and current view of patient care, including prescriptions and medication dispensing data.

Tricia Rodriguez, PhD, MPH principal applied scientist, Truveta Research, and lead author on the paper, emphasized the importance of this research, stating, “GLP-1 medications have dramatically increased in use by patients with and without type 2 diabetes in the past year, yet little RWD exist to compare the effectiveness of two of the most common medications, semaglutide and tirzepatide.” She added,

“That’s what makes today’s study findings so exciting and important… this study can help to inform patient care and outcomes today, not months from now.”

In the study, Truveta Research included patients who started on either semaglutide or tirzepatide between May 2022 and September 2023. Through rigorous methods, including propensity score matching, the research team created a balanced analytic cohort of over 18,000 patients. The analysis revealed that patients on tirzepatide experienced significantly larger reductions in body weight at specified time points: a mean percentage change of -5.9% at three months, -10.1% at six months, and -15.3% at one year, compared to -3.6%, -5.8% and -8.3% for those on semaglutide, respectively.

Notably, the study also highlighted a high discontinuation rate, with 55.9% of tirzepatide users and 52.5% of semaglutide users discontinuing the medication within 12 months. Additionally, patients without type 2 diabetes experienced greater weight loss than those with type 2 diabetes, though the differences in effectiveness between the two medications remained consistent across both groups. Rates of moderate to severe gastrointestinal adverse events were similar for both medications.

Tyler Gluckman, MD, MHA, FACC, FAHA, FASPC, cardiologist, Providence Health, medical director at the Center for Cardiovascular Analytics, Research, and Data Science (CARDS), Providence Heart Institute, and an author on the paper, commented on the study’s impact, stating,

“Assessing the real-world effect of semaglutide and tirzepatide on weight loss provides a glimpse into what we may see with the recently approved obesity drug tirzepatide and how it might compare with semaglutide. Because tirzepatide was only approved by the FDA in mid-2022 for type 2 diabetes, the ability to rigorously analyze its use (on- and off-label) for a broad population of patients with overweight or obesity, not just a subset captured in insurance databases, has the power to greatly improve our understanding of how these agents are being used in every day practice and the effect that they’re having.”