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Real-world safety profile of once-weekly semaglutide in people with type 2 diabetes: Analysis of pooled data from the SemaglUtide Real-world Evidence (SURE) programme.

Diabetes Obes Metab · 2024

Last updated 2026-05-28

In a study of 3,505 adults with type 2 diabetes taking once-weekly semaglutide for about 30 weeks, 24.3% reported side effects, mostly mild (17.1%) and related to the digestive system (16.3%). A small number—5.1%—stopped treatment due to side effects, while 0.5% had serious reactions and 0.2% had a fatal event unrelated to the drug. Blood sugar levels dropped too low in 1.1% of patients, with a higher rate in those with certain complications taking insulin.

AI summary of the abstract below.

JournalDiabetes Obes Metab, 2024
Citations12
Relative citation ratio1.99
NIH percentile73
Molecules semaglutide
Conditions studied Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

AIM: To investigate, through post hoc analysis of nine studies from the SemaglUtide Real-world Evidence (SURE) programme, the safety of once-weekly (OW) semaglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and in subpopulations in routine clinical practice, complementing findings from the phase 3 randomized clinical trial (RCT) SUSTAIN programme. METHODS: The SURE studies had a duration of ~30 weeks and included adults with diagnosed T2D treated with OW semaglutide. Safety information, including hypoglycaemic events, were collected and analysed for the total study population and for patient subgroups based on baseline patient characteristics, baseline co-medication and prescriber specialty. RESULTS: Of the total 3505 patients, 24.3% reported adverse events (AEs), with most patients reporting non-serious (22.3%) and mild (17.1%) AEs. AEs mainly belonged to the gastrointestinal disorders system organ class (16.3% of patients). In total, 5.1% of patients reported AEs that led to treatment discontinuation, 0.5% reported serious adverse drug reactions and 0.2% had an AE with a fatal outcome, reported as unrelated to treatment. Overall, 1.1% and 0.1% of patients reported level 2 and 3 hypoglycaemic events, respectively. A higher rate of level 2 hypoglycaemia was observed in patients with baseline microvascular complications treated with insulin versus those on insulin without these complications. CONCLUSIONS: Safety data reported in the real-world SURE studies were generally consistent with observations in phase 3 OW semaglutide RCTs. No new safety concerns were identified, highlighting that OW semaglutide is well tolerated by adults with T2D and in subpopulations in routine clinical practice.

Verbatim abstract via PubMed 39118222 ↗

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