Researchers have found in a new study that Tirzepatide is more effective than conventional care for improving glycemic control and overall metabolic health in early type 2 diabetes.Tirzepatide also led to better improvements in multiple cardiometabolic parameters. The study was published in the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Safety by Karolina H. and colleagues. It was revealed that in recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients experienced a significantly greater in HbA1c with tirzepatide compared to conventional treatment.After 2 years, 60.2% of patients on tirzepatide achieved HbA1c < 5.7% (near-normal levels).
This systematic review and network meta-analysis consisted of 13 randomized controlled trials involving a total of 14,007 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and/or obesity. The comparison was made for once-weekly administration of tirzepatide at doses of 5 mg, 10 mg, and 15 mg with placebo, insulin, and other glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists.
The analysis was carried out using the results from the random-effects model to obtain mean differences for weight loss and HbA1c reduction, and relative risk for the achievement of weight loss targets and normoglycemia. The treatment ranking was performed using the Surface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve, and evidence certainty was determined using the CINeMA framework.
Key findings:
• Tirzepatide has shown significant dose-dependent efficacy in both weight loss and glycemic control compared to insulin treatment.
• The efficacy has been significantly increased in higher doses.
• The 15 mg dose has shown the most significant efficacy in weight loss, with a relative risk of 4.83 for achieving at least 15% body weight loss.
• The efficacy in glycemic control has also been significantly increased, with a mean HbA1c reduction of -12.6 mmol/mol, along with a significantly increased probability of achieving normoglycemia (relative risk 11.3).
• The safety profile of tirzepatide has been significantly superior to that of insulin treatment, with a significantly lower risk of serious adverse events (relative risks ranging from 0.71 to 0.77). The risk of hypoglycemia has also been significantly reduced (relative risks ranging from 0.44 to 0.50).
• However, gastrointestinal side effects have been more common with tirzepatide treatment, as expected for this class of drugs.
Tirzepatide showed dose-response superiority to insulin in weight loss and glucose control, with lower risk of hypoglycemia and serious adverse events, indicating its efficacy as first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity.
Reference:
Hoffmann, K., Michalak, M., Rizzo, M., Maggio, V., & Paczkowska, A. (2025). The efficacy and safety of dual GIP/GLP1 receptor agonists (tirzepatide) in diabetes and obesity: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14740338.2025.2586703
