Project description:BackgroundGlucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are an established treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Differences between GLP-1RAs in pharmacokinetics, dosing regimens and clinical effects, including cardiovascular (CV) outcomes, mean there may be benefits to switching from one to another. However, clinical guidance on switching is lacking and data from clinical trials are limited. This article provides a clinical perspective and consensus on the benefits of switching between GLP-1RAs, the triggers for switching and how best to manage this in clinical practice. Once weekly (OW) semaglutide is used as an example to illustrate how the authors might switch to a different GLP-1RA in clinical practice.MethodsLiterature was searched and perspectives from 10 healthcare professionals with experience in switching patients with T2D to OW semaglutide from another GLP-1RA were collated.ResultsMedical triggers for switching to another GLP-1RA included HbA1c targets not being met, a desire for additional weight loss, poor adherence, patients moving to increased CV risk status and adverse effects with the current GLP-1RA. Non-medical triggers for switching included patient preference, cost, formulary changes and insurance mandates. Once the decision to switch is made, an individualised approach is recommended, based on considerations that include reimbursement requirements, treatment duration with (and dose of) previous GLP-1RA, the patient's experience initiating the prior GLP-1RA, any concomitant treatment and clinical characteristics. When switching, it is important to emphasise that treatment burden will not increase and that if gastrointestinal adverse effects occur, they are typically transient. Any transient gastrointestinal adverse effects that may occur (or recur) when switching to another GLP-1RA can be reduced by slow up-titration and advising patients to reduce food portion sizes and fat intake.ConclusionSwitching from one GLP-1RA to another, such as OW semaglutide, can provide clinical benefits and may delay the need for treatment intensification.
Project description:Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a natural peptide agonist of the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) found on pancreatic β-cells. Engagement of the receptor stimulates insulin release in a glucose-dependent fashion and increases β-cell mass, two ideal features for pharmacologic management of type 2 diabetes. Thus, intensive efforts have focused on developing GLP-1-based peptide agonists of GLP-1R for therapeutic application. A primary challenge has been the naturally short half-life of GLP-1 due to its rapid proteolytic degradation in vivo. Whereas mutagenesis and lipidation strategies have yielded clinical agents, we developed an alternative approach to preserving the structure and function of GLP-1 by all-hydrocarbon i, i + 7 stitching. This particular "stitch" is especially well-suited for reinforcing and protecting the structural fidelity of GLP-1. Lead constructs demonstrate striking proteolytic stability and potent biological activity in vivo. Thus, we report a facile approach to generating alternative GLP-1R agonists for glycemic control.
Project description:Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a member of the proglucagon incretin family, and GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs) have been introduced as a new class of antidiabetic medications in the past decade. The benefits of GLP-1 RAs are derived from their pleiotropic effects, which include glucose-dependent insulin secretion, suppressed glucagon secretion, and reduced appetite. Moreover, GLP-1 RAs also exert beneficial roles on multiple organ systems in which the GLP-1 receptors exist, including the cardiovascular system. Cardiovascular effects of GLP-1 RAs have been of great interest since the burden from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been unbearably increasing in a diabetic population worldwide, despite strict glycemic control and advanced therapeutic techniques to treat CVD. Preclinical studies have already demonstrated the beneficial effects of GLP-1 on myocardium and vascular endothelium, and many clinical studies evaluating changes in surrogate markers of CVD have suggested potential benefits from the use of GLP-1 RAs. Data from numerous clinical trials primarily evaluating the antihyperglycemic effects of multiple GLP-1 RAs have also revealed that changes in most CVD risk markers reported as secondary outcomes have been in favor of GLP-1 RAs treatment. However, to date, there is only one randomized clinical trial of GLP-1 RAs (the ELIXA study) evaluating major cardiovascular events as their primary outcomes, and in this study, a neutral cardiovascular effect of lixisenatide was observed in high-risk diabetic subjects. Therefore, the results of ongoing CVD outcome trials with the use of GLP-1 RAs should be awaited to elucidate the translation of benefits previously seen in CVD risk marker studies into large clinical trials with primary cardiovascular outcomes.
Project description:The peptide hormone glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 has important actions resulting in glucose lowering along with weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes. As a peptide hormone, GLP-1 has to be administered by injection. Only a few small-molecule agonists to peptide hormone receptors have been described and none in the B family of the G protein coupled receptors to which the GLP-1 receptor belongs. We have discovered a series of small molecules known as ago-allosteric modulators selective for the human GLP-1 receptor. These compounds act as both allosteric activators of the receptor and independent agonists. Potency of GLP-1 was not changed by the allosteric agonists, but affinity of GLP-1 for the receptor was increased. The most potent compound identified stimulates glucose-dependent insulin release from normal mouse islets but, importantly, not from GLP-1 receptor knockout mice. Also, the compound stimulates insulin release from perfused rat pancreas in a manner additive with GLP-1 itself. These compounds may lead to the identification or design of orally active GLP-1 agonists.
Project description:The incretin system has become an important target in the treatment of type 2 diabetes in recent years, and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is of particular interest for its glucose-lowering effects. The physiological response to oral ingestion of nutrients, involving the incretin system, is reduced in some patients with type 2 diabetes but may be augmented by administration of GLP-1 receptor agonists. The GLP-1 receptor agonists currently approved in the United States for the treatment of type 2 diabetes include exenatide (administered twice daily), liraglutide and lixisenatide (administered once daily), and the once-weekly agents exenatide extended-release, albiglutide, and dulaglutide. These agents have been shown to reduce A1C (by ∼0.8-1.6%), body weight (by ∼1-3 kg), blood pressure, and lipids. GLP-1 receptor agonists are associated with a low risk of hypoglycemia, and the most common adverse effects are gastrointestinal. Proper patient selection and education can assist in achieving positive treatment outcomes.
Project description:Patients with type 2 diabetes have a several-fold increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease when compared with nondiabetic controls. Myocardial infarction and stroke are responsible for 75% of all death in patients with diabetes, who present a 2-4× increased incidence of death from coronary artery disease. Patients with diabetes are considered for cardiovascular disease secondary prevention because their risk level is similar to that reported in patients without diabetes who have already suffered a myocardial infarction. More recently, with a better risk factors control, mainly in intensive LDL cholesterol targets with statins, a significant decrease in acute cardiovascular events was observed in population with diabetes. Together with other major risk factors, type 2 diabetes must be considered as an important cause of cardiovascular disease.Glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonists represent a novel class of anti-hyperglycemic agents that have a cardiac-friendly profile, preserve neuronal cells and inhibit neuronal degeneration, an anti-inflammatory effect in liver protecting it against steatosis, increase insulin sensitivity, promote weight loss, and increase satiety or anorexia.This review is intended to rationally compile the multifactorial cardiovascular effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists available for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes.
Project description:In this study, a series of fused-heterocyclic derivatives were systematically designed and synthesized using an efficient route, and evaluated in terms of GLP-1R agonist activity. We employed short synthetic steps and reactions that are tolerant of the presence of various functional groups and suitable for parallel operations to enable the rapid generation of libraries of diverse and structurally complex small molecules. Of the compounds synthesized, 3-(8-chloro-6-(trifluoromethyl)imidazo[1,2-a] pyridin-2-yl)phenyl methanesulfonate (8e) was the most potent agonist with an EC50 of 7.89 μM, and thus is the compound with the greatest potential for application. These findings represent a valuable starting point for the design and discovery of small-molecule GLP-1R agonists that can be administered orally.
Project description:BackgroundGlucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are approved to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. They elicit robust improvements in glycemic control and weight loss, combined with cardioprotection in individuals at risk of or with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. These attributes make GLP-1 a preferred partner for next-generation therapies exhibiting improved efficacy yet retaining safety to treat diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and related cardiometabolic disorders. The available clinical data demonstrate that the best GLP-1R agonists are not yet competitive with bariatric surgery, emphasizing the need to further improve the efficacy of current medical therapy.Scope of reviewIn this article, we discuss data highlighting the physiological and pharmacological attributes of potential peptide and non-peptide partners, exemplified by amylin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and steroid hormones. We review the progress, limitations, and future considerations for translating findings from preclinical experiments to competitive efficacy and safety in humans with type 2 diabetes and obesity.Major conclusionsMultiple co-agonist combinations exhibit promising clinical efficacy, notably tirzepatide and investigational amylin combinations. Simultaneously, increasing doses of GLP-1R agonists such as semaglutide produces substantial weight loss, raising the bar for the development of new unimolecular co-agonists. Collectively, the available data suggest that new co-agonists with robust efficacy should prove superior to GLP-1R agonists alone to treat metabolic disorders.
Project description:While glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are known to increase heart rate (HR), it is insufficiently recognized that the extent varies greatly between the various agonists and is affected by the assessment methods employed. Here we review published data from 24-h time-averaged HR monitoring in healthy individuals and subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with either short-acting GLP-1 RAs, lixisenatide or exenatide, or long-acting GLP-1 RAs, exenatide LAR, liraglutide, albiglutide, or dulaglutide (N = 1112; active-treatment arms). HR effects observed in two independent head-to-head trials of lixisenatide and liraglutide (N = 202; active-treatment arms) are also reviewed. Short-acting GLP-1 RAs, exenatide and lixisenatide, are associated with a transient (1-12 h) mean placebo- and baseline-adjusted 24-h HR increase of 1-3 beats per minute (bpm). Conversely, long-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with more pronounced increases in mean 24-h HR; the highest seen with liraglutide and albiglutide at 6-10 bpm compared with dulaglutide and exenatide LAR at 3-4 bpm. For both liraglutide and dulaglutide, HR increases were recorded during both the day and at night. In two head-to-head comparisons, a small, transient mean increase in HR from baseline was observed with lixisenatide; liraglutide induced a substantially greater increase that remained significantly elevated over 24 h. The underlying mechanism for increased HR remains to be elucidated; however, it could be related to a direct effect at the sinus node and/or stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, with this effect related to the duration of action of the respective GLP-1 RAs. In conclusion, this review indicates that the effects on HR differ within the class of GLP-1 RAs: short-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with a modest and transient HR increase before returning to baseline levels, while some long-acting GLP-1 RAs are associated with a more pronounced and sustained increase during the day and night. Findings from recently completed trials indicate that a GLP-1 RA-induced increase in HR, regardless of magnitude, does not present an increased cardiovascular risk for subjects with T2DM, although a pronounced increase in HR may be associated with adverse clinical outcomes in those with advanced heart failure.
Project description:Heart failure (HF) remains one of the cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) associated with a high unmet medical need due to high morbidity and mortality rates and lack of efficacious interventions. HF is closely related to cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and chronic kidney disease, and strategies that address most or all these intertwined conditions are desirable. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are approved for type 2 diabetes (T2D), and some are also indicated for reduction of the risk of atherosclerotic CVD in T2D and for weight management. As we summarise in this concise review, preliminary evidence suggests that the cardioprotective benefits of GLP-1 RAs may also extend to HF. The most robust clinical evidence arguably originates from the large cardiovascular outcomes trials (CVOTs) completed for most GLP-1 RAs, of which the latest showed a significant relative risk reduction (RRR) of 39% (HR) with once-weekly efpeglenatide on HF requiring hospitalisation, corroborating a meta-analysis which found a significant RRR across eight GLP-1 RA CVOTs of 11%. Further, although incompletely described, multiple studies are available to provide insights into the mechanistic underpinnings, which appear to be associated mostly with indirect cardioprotective benefits owing to the ability of GLP-1 RAs to address hyperglycaemia, and reduce body weight, and, amongst others, inflammation. In sum, current evidence positions GLP-1 RAs as a potential cardioprotective strategy in HF, with HF with preserved ejection fraction emerging as the clinically most relevant phenotype for the drug class, especially when occurring in people with obesity with and without diabetes.