Series: Cardiovascular outcome trials for diabetes drugs Semaglutide and SUSTAIN-6

SUSTAIN-6 (Trial to Evaluate Cardiovascular and Other Longterm Outcomes with Semaglutide in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes) was a pre-licensing FDA-mandated cardiovascular outcome trial with subcutaneous semaglutide and was the first completed trial with a once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist. SUSTAIN-6 compared semaglutide and placebo in 3,297 people with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, or both, or who were aged over 60 years and had subclinical evidence of cardiovascular disease (persistent microalbuminuria or proteinuria, hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy, left ventricular dysfunction by imaging, ankle/brachial index less than 0.9). As SUSTAIN-6 was performed as a pre-licensing safety study, non-inferiority for major cardiovascular events (MACE; cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke) was the primary outcome and testing for superiority for MACE was not pre-specified or adjusted for multiplicity. SUSTAIN-6 confirmed non-inferiority for MACE, with nominal superiority, and demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of non-fatal stroke. There was no significant difference in non-fatal myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, all-cause mortality or hospitalisation for heart failure. Rates of retinopathy complications were unexpectedly higher in the semaglutide group. Further outcome trials with subcutaneous semaglutide are in progress, including a cardiovascular outcome trial in non-diabetic subjects with overweight or obesity.