Tolerability, safety and pharmacodynamics of oral, small‐molecule glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist danuglipron for type 2 diabetes: A 12‐week, randomized, placebo‐controlled, Phase 2 study comparing different dose‐escalation schemes

Abstract Aim To evaluate the tolerability, safety and pharmacodynamics of different dose‐escalation schemes of the oral small‐molecule glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor (GLP‐1R) agonist danuglipron. Materials and Methods This Phase 2a, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, parallel‐group study randomly assigned adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with metformin to placebo or danuglipron (low [5‐mg] or high [10‐mg] starting dose, with 1‐ or 2‐week dose‐escalation steps, to target doses of 80, 120 or 200 mg twice daily [BID]) and adults with obesity without diabetes to placebo or danuglipron 200 mg BID. Results Participants with T2D (n = 123, mean glycated haemoglobin [HbA1c] 8.19%) or obesity without diabetes (n = 28, mean body mass index 37.3 kg/m 2 ) were randomly assigned and treated. Discontinuation from study medication occurred in 27.3% to 72.7% of participants across danuglipron groups versus 16.7% to 18.8% for placebo, most often due to adverse events. Nausea (20.0%‐47.6% of participants across danuglipron groups vs. 12.5% for placebo) and vomiting (18.2%‐40.9% danuglipron vs. 12.5% placebo, respectively) were most commonly reported in participants with T2D. Gastrointestinal adverse events were generally related to danuglipron target dose and were not substantially affected by starting dose. In participants with T2D, least squares mean changes from baseline in HbA1c (−1.04% to −1.57% across danuglipron groups vs. −0.32% for placebo), fasting plasma glucose (−23.34 mg/dL to −53.94 mg/dL danuglipron vs. −13.09 mg/dL placebo) and body weight (−1.93 to −5.38 kg danuglipron vs. −0.42 kg placebo) at Week 12 were generally statistically significant for danuglipron compared with placebo ( P < 0.05). Conclusions Danuglipron resulted in statistically significant reductions in HbA1c, FPG and body weight over 12 weeks, in the setting of higher discontinuation rates and incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events with higher target doses. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04617275.