Treatment with orforglipron, an oral glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonist, is associated with improvements of CV risk biomarkers in participants with type 2 diabetes or obesity without diabetes.

Background: Orforglipron, a novel oral, non-peptide glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, has demonstrated efficacy in improving body weight reduction and glycemic control. However, its potential benefits in improving cardiovascular (CV) risk factors have yet to be determined. We assessed the effect of orforglipron in participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and/or overweight or obesity on blood pressure, lipid, and inflammatory biomarkers associated with risk for major adverse cardiovascular events.

Methods: Using data from participants with available samples from Phase 2 trials of orforglipron in participants with T2D (N = 361) or with overweight or obesity without diabetes mellitus (N = 234), we performed an exploratory analysis of changes in CV risk markers. For the T2D study, participants mean age 59 years, 40% were assigned female at birth with a mean HbA_1c of 8.1% and mean BMI of 35.3 kg/m²; they received once daily orforglipron doses (3, 12, 24, 36, or 45 mg) or once weekly subcutaneous dulaglutide 1.5 mg, or placebo. In the obesity study, participants had a mean age 54 years, 60% were assigned female at birth, and mean BMI was 37.9 kg/m²; they received once daily orforglipron (12, 24, 36, or 45 mg) or placebo. The change from baseline at 26 weeks (T2D study) or 36 weeks (obesity study) in blood pressure, lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides, Apolipoprotein B (ApoB), Apolipoprotein C3 (ApoC3), N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), and inflammatory biomarkers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6)) were assessed.

Results: Significant placebo-adjusted decreases from baseline in blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, ApoB, ApoC3, and hsCRP were observed following orforglipron treatment in participants with T2D and/or overweight or obesity. In both studies, improvements in blood pressure, lipid parameters, and most of the evaluated biomarkers were of similar magnitude after treatment with 12 mg orforglipron as with 24, 36, and 45 mg.

Conclusion: Orforglipron treatment was associated with beneficial changes in CV risk markers in participants with T2D and in participants with overweight/obesity without T2D. (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT05048719, NCT05051579).