Table 4.

Studies on long acting GLP-1RA

Study	Population	Comparison group	Key finding
Umpierrez et al.71	807 Obese adults; mean age (55.7 yr), mean BMI (33.3 kg/m2), mean duration since diagnosis (3 yr), race (600 white 85 native American, 61 Asians, 53 black, 7 multiple races, 1 Hawaiian), sex (353 male and 454 female)	1.5 mg dulaglutide vs. 0.75 mg dulaglutide vs. metformin (progressively titrated up to 2,000 mg/day during the first 4 weeks of treatment or at least 1,500 mg/day depending upon tolerability)	The HbA1c-lowering effects subcutaneous and non-subcutaneous dulaglutide were superior to metformin in patients achieving their HbA1c targets of < 7.0% and ≤ 6.5% (1.5 mg, 46; 0.75 mg, 40; and metformin, 30%; P < 0.05).
Tanaka et al.72	46 Japanese adults with suboptimal glycemic control: mean age (52.9 yr), mean BMI (28.7 kg/m2), mean duration since diagnosis (5.1 yr), race (46 Asians), sex (29 male and 17 female)	Liraglutide (starting at 0.3 mg/day subcutaneously, with an up-titration of 0.3 mg weekly until the participant reached 0.9 mg/day) vs. metformin (starting at an initial dose of 500 to 750 mg/day, with an up-titration to a 1,500 mg/day)	At the end of the study, reduction in HbA1c was similar in both groups.
Nauck et al.73	309 Adults not using glucose lowering agents: mean age (52.9 yr), mean BMI (33.5 kg/m2), mean duration since diagnosis (3.9 yr), race (242 white, 38 black, 7 Asians), sex (166 male and 135 female)	Albiglutide 50 mg vs. albiglutide 30 mg vs. placebo	Patients taking 30 mg and 50 mg albiglutide experienced superior reductions in HbA1c compared to the placebo group (−0.84% vs. −1.04% respectively, P < 0.001).
Russell-Jones et al.74	820 Drug-naïve adults: mean age (53.8 yr), mean BMI (31.2 kg/m2), mean duration since diagnosis (2.67 yr), race (552 white, 173 Asians, 65 Hispanic, 25 African, 5 other), sex (484 male and 336 female)	Exenatide (2 mg)+oral placebo vs. 2,000 mg/day metformin+subcutaneous placebo vs. 45 mg/day pioglitazone+subcutaneous placebo vs. 100 mg/day of sitagliptin+subcutaneous placebo	Exenatide significantly reduced HbA1c compared to sitagliptin (−1.53 vs. −1.15%, P < 0.01), respectively. However, no significant difference when compared to metformin or pioglitazone.

GLP-1RA, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists; BMI, body mass index; HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin.