Pharmacotherapy for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: What's Up and Coming in the Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Pipeline?

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), an incretin hormone, is known to lower glucose levels, suppress glucagon secretion, and slow gastric emptying. These properties make GLP-1 an ideal target in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). There are many FDA-approved GLP-1 agonists on the market today, several of which have demonstrated benefit beyond improving glycemic control. Given the beneficial effects of GLP-1 agonists in patients with T2DM, new drugs are in development that combine the mechanism of action of GLP-1 receptor agonism with novel mechanisms and with drugs that promote GLP-1 secretion. These agents are designed to improve glycemic control and target greater body weight reduction. This article discusses new GLP-1 drugs in the pipeline for the treatment of T2DM.