How GLP-1 RAs Usage Is Changing Obesity & Diabetes Care

Real-World Utilization Of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists In Overweight & Obese U.S. Adults 

This poster was originally presented at ISPOR 2025 on May 15, in Montreal, QC, Canada. 

Authors: Dave Iwanyckyj, BA; Rohan Vashi, PharmD, MS; Pablo Racana, BS; Melanie Jardim, PhD 

Affiliations: Amplity, Inc., Langhorne, PA, USA 

Introduction 

This study characterizes real-world use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in overweight and obese adults in the United States.  

Methods  

• This retrospective observational study utilized AnswerY™, Amplity’s real-world database and platform built from HIPAA-compliant transcriptions of U.S. prescriber–patient visits.  

• Using AI and natural language processing (NLP), it extracts, visualizes, and summarizes treatment discussions and clinical decisions. Covering inpatient and outpatient care across 70+ specialties since 2017, AnswerY was known as Amplity Insights™ prior to January 2025. 

• NLP was used to search and analyze the AnswerY database and platform for records from 12,540 providers for patients who had received a GLP-1 RA as a class or specific agent from January 1, 2017, to October 30, 2024. 

• Patient demographics and comorbidities were aggregated, and drug-utilization data from 193,193 records were summarized for overweight or obese patients with and without diabetes, and a BMI <25, 25-26, 27-29, and ≥30. 

Results 

Figure 1 shows the most utilized GLP-1 RAs among patients with and without diabetes within the cohort: 

• Liraglutide was the most utilized GLP-1 RA among patients with and without diabetes, followed by dulaglutide and semaglutide. 

• Liraglutide (49.5% vs 44.5%) and semaglutide (35.6% vs 15.6%) both have higher utilization in patients without diabetes, whereas dulaglutide (15.5% vs 34.7%) shows greater utilization in patients with diabetes. 

Figure 2 shows the most utilized GLP-1 RAs among patients with a recorded BMI, stratified by BMI: 

• Utilization of GLP-1 RAs among BMI-stratified cohorts was similar to patients with and without diabetes, with liraglutide having higher overall utilization rates than other agents. 

• Among those that utilized dulaglutide, patients with a BMI of <25 utilized dulaglutide more than patients with higher BMIs (BMI <25 vs BMI ≥30: 39.0% vs 32.5%). 

Figure 3 shows the most common comorbidities among both cohorts: 

• Comorbidities were present in 82.1% and 64.9% of patients with and without diabetes, respectively. 

• Compared with patients with diabetes, patients without diabetes experience lower rates of all comorbidities except for mental health disorders (36.5% vs 47.9%). 

Conclusion 

• In this real-world U.S. cohort, GLP-1 RA–containing medications are used heavily in overweight and obese populations. However, usage of GLP-1 RAs among overweight and obese patients are overwhelmingly used in patients with diabetes.  

• Liraglutide was the most utilized GLP-1 RA among overweight and obese patients with or without diabetes.  

• As dulaglutide is only approved to improve glycemic control as an adjunct to diet and exercise for patients with type 2 diabetes, usage of dulaglutide in patients without diabetes suggests potential off-label usage. 

• Drug shortages for GLP-1 RAs may lead to pharmacies temporarily compounding GLP-1 RAs, which may have additional patient safety and efficacy concerns not associated with the original product.  

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