Good News on Semaglutide from the Cardiology Meeting

The opening of the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago yielded good news on semaglutide from two major studies. A morning presentation  and simultaneous publication in Lancet showed semaglutide reduces symptoms of peripheral artery disease in persons with diabetes. Then, in the afternoon, researchers presented data and published it in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing that oral semaglutide produces a 14% reduction in strokes, heart attacks, and deaths for people with diabetes and heart disease.

At a time when competition from newer GLP-1 medicines is fierce, this news from the cardiology meeting is a reminder that we still have much to learn about the benefits of therapy with semaglutide.

Improving Lives

Panelists discussing results of the STRIDE study of peripheral artery disease were effusive about the benefits seen in this trial. Joshua Beckman of UT Southwestern in Dallas said:

“I don’t think everybody really understands how much what we describe as mild claudication limits patients. When you do physical component scores, they feel as poorly as patients with New York Heart Association class III heart failure. Only being able to walk 100 meters is a horrendous result, and any improvement is an important one.”

A First for an Oral GLP-1

The afternoon presentation and publication in NEJM of cardiovascular outcomes with oral semaglutide represents a first. Until now, nobody knew if an oral GLP-1 could deliver cardiovascular outcome benefits as injectables do. Lead author of the SOUL study, Darren McGuire, noted that having an oral option is important to many patients:

“Semaglutide originally came to market as a once weekly injectable, where it’s now approved for use for the treatment of hyperglycemia and to reduce cardiovascular risk in people with type 2 diabetes. But as clinicians, we have many patients who are reticent or even resistant to using an injectable therapy.”

More to Learn

Eight years have passed since this remarkable medicine, semaglutide, was first approved. Yet we seemingly still have more to learn about its benefits.

Click here for the STRIDE study in Lancet and here for the SOUL study in NEJM. For further reporting, click here, here, and here.

Nocturne, Railway Crossing, Chicago, painting by Childe Hassam / WikiArt

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March x, 2025