Less frequent dosing of GLP-1 receptor agonists as a viable weight maintenance strategy

Objective

Incretin mimetics are revolutionizing obesity treatment, but high prices and supply shortages limit patient access. Some clinicians have suggested less frequent dosing as an off-ramping strategy to maintain weight loss, but this approach lacks published evidence regarding its weight loss efficacy. We aim to provide such clinical evidence and to rationalize these results with mathematical modeling.

Methods

We present a real-world case series of two patients who took their incretin mimetic less frequently than recommended. We complement this case report with a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model of virtual patients that simulates long-term weight change with semaglutide and tirzepatide administered at various frequencies.

Results

Both real-world and virtual patients maintained significant weight loss under reduced dosing frequencies. Our results indicate that reducing frequency does not commensurately reduce efficacy. The majority of weight loss persists even when patients wait 2, 3, or perhaps even 4 weeks between doses.

Conclusions

Our findings support the hypothesis that less frequent administration of incretin mimetics can be a viable and cost-saving long-term weight maintenance strategy in conjunction with sustained lifestyle modification. Further research is warranted to validate the effectiveness of this off-label approach, define optimal dosing regimens to meet individual patient needs, and evaluate the cost–benefit implications.