Real-world use of liraglutide for weight management according to label in the United Kingdom: A cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink primary care databases.

This retrospective, non-interventional drug utilization cohort study examined real-world prescribing patterns of two liraglutide formulations in the United Kingdom: Saxenda® (3.0 mg, approved for weight management) and Victoza® (1.2/1.8 mg, approved for type 2 diabetes). Using anonymized primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD Aurum and GOLD databases), researchers identified 604 Saxenda® initiators and 4,853 Victoza® initiators who had no prior liraglutide prescription in the preceding 12 months. Descriptive statistics characterized demographics and drug utilization patterns. The study found that, where body weight data were available, 96.4% of Saxenda® initiators met the weight loss indication criteria. Saxenda® users were predominantly female (86.4%), younger (mean age ~46.5 years), and had shorter follow-up periods compared to Victoza® users. The authors concluded that both formulations were mostly prescribed in line with their approved indications and that real-world use raised no new safety signals. Key limitations include incomplete weight data for approximately half of Saxenda® initiators, the observational nature of the study, and reliance on administrative/primary care records, which may not capture all clinical details or secondary care prescribing.

Why this grade: Although conducted in a real-world human population using large primary care databases, the study is purely descriptive and observational with no comparator group or clinical outcomes assessment, and weight data were missing for approximately half of Saxenda® initiators, limiting the strength of its clinical conclusions.