Evaluating the pharmacotherapy of tirzepatide in patients with type 2 diabetes: The consideration of systemic metabolism

Seetharaman et al. showed that innovations in pharmacotherapy to ameliorate the symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes promote more insightful developments in medicine. Tirzepatide, the dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, has recently been reported to initiate more beneficial action against type 2 diabetes than other GLP-1 receptor agonists.1 According to an adjusted indirect treatment comparison from SURPASS-2 and SUSTAIN FORTE trials performed by Vadher et al., treatment with tirzepatide in doses of 5, 10 and 15 mg for 40 weeks significantly decreased HbA1c and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes compared with semaglutide 2 mg.2 However, the issues concerning the metabolic modulation of tirzepatide remain obscure. Therefore, we here present some opinions on the metabolic functions associated with the use of tirzepatide in treating type 2 diabetes.