Diabetes and obesity care are increasingly converging
A major theme throughout the meeting was the continued convergence of diabetes and obesity management. While obesity was emphasised as a central driver of metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, steatotic liver disease, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, this integrated perspective was particularly evident in therapeutic development. “We have now started to see an even greater shift towards tackling obesity in the context of diabetes,” says Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, UK, and recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Diabetes Research Award of the ADA.
Next-generation incretin therapies continue to raise the bar
In a symposium chaired by Prof. Sattar, results from the first phase III trials of retatrutide, a GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist (RA), in type 2 diabetes (TRANSCEND-T2D-1) and obesity (TRIUMPH-1) were presented.
In the 40-week TRANSCEND-T2D-1, with 778 individuals with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 36 kg/m2 and a mean HbA1c of 7.9 % at baseline, retatrutide (4–12 mg once weekly) decreased HbA1c by up to 1.9 %-points (placebo –0.8 %-points) and body weight by up to 15.3 % (placebo –2.6 %). The study was simultaneously published in The Lancet.
TRIUMPH-1, with 2,339 adults with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity, but without diabetes, retatrutide (again, 4–12 mg once weekly) reduced body weight by up to 28.3 % over an 80-week follow-up versus 2.2 % with placebo.
Commenting on TRANSCEND-T2D-1, Prof. Sattar expects that “we will soon have another tool that cannot only improve glycaemia but substantially improve weight in patients living with diabetes. And that is important because we have for many years underestimated how much impact weight has on our patients’ lives in terms of their other risks, but also their physical functionality and how they feel about themselves.”
Improvements in cardiovascular risk factors were seen in both trials.
Another session reported key results from the VESPER phase II trial programme with berobenatide, a GLP-1 RA with a very long half-life of about 16 days. In the three trials that were presented, berobenatide showed substantial reductions of body weight in individuals with obesity or overweight, with and without type 2 diabetes, when administered at either weekly or monthly intervals. The tolerability profile looks really encouraging, says Sattar, but what’s really unique is the potential of monthly dosing: “Once-monthly may well be favoured by some of our patients. They only require 12 injections a year rather than the current 52 injections, which is a big advance. So let's see how these data evolve in the phase III programme.”
Oral small-molecule GLP-1 RA may change the game
One of the most anticipated sessions focused on orforglipron, the first oral non-peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist, which has already been approved in the US for the treatment of obesity. In New Orleans, three phase III trials were discussed, testing orforglipron versus dapagliflozin (ACHIEVE-2), versus oral semaglutide (ACHIEVE-3), and versus placebo added to basal insulin glargine (ACHIEVE-5) in individuals with insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes.
In all three trials, patients treated with orforglipron achieved stronger HbA1c reductions than patients in the respective control groups. Special interest was directed at the ACHIEVE-3 trial as it was the first head-to-head comparison of the two oral GLP-1 RAs that are clinically available thus far. ACHIEVE-3 included 1,698 participants with an average baseline HbA1c of 8.3 % on metformin who were randomised to receive orforglipron (12 or 36 mg per day) or oral semaglutide (7 or 14 mg per day). Over 52 weeks, both doses of orforglipron showed superior glycaemic control to oral semaglutide 14 mg (as well as 7 mg), resulting in HbA1c reductions of 1.7 and 1.9 %-points, respectively. However, gastrointestinal side effects were more prevalent and resulted in more study discontinuations in the orforglipron group.
Alice Cheng, Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, provided the independent commentary in the session, emphasising that, based on the data presented, orforglipron “would be the most efficacious oral antihyperglycaemic drug that we have for type 2 diabetes, with tolerability being on par or maybe slightly worse, however, in keeping with other GLP-1 receptor agonists and hopefully at a lower cost.” This and the oral application without the restrictions of semaglutide may further broaden the use of GLP-1-based treatment in type 2 diabetes.
ACHIEVE-3 and ACHIEVE-5 publications have been made available in the run-up to the Scientific Sessions. ACHIEVE-2 was published concurrently with its presentation at ADA.
2026 ADA EASD type 2 diabetes consensus disclosed for public comment
Four years after the previous update, the ADA and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) have unveiled a revised Consensus Report on the Management of Type 2 Diabetes. During a symposium chaired by Professor Melanie J. Davies (University of Leicester, UK), key topics to be addressed in the report were disclosed.
EASD President Francesco Giorgino, Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Bari, Italy, and member of the Report’s writing group, comments on what are, in his view, major advancements since the 2022 update of the Consensus Report:
- a decidedly holistic approach to address glycaemic management and cardio-renal protection, but also metabolic liver disease and other complications related to excessive weight, physical function, and well-being;
- the prioritisation of medications with proven protective benefits like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1-based therapies;
- and an integrated care approach combining lifestyle interventions, diagnosis and surveillance of diabetes and its associated long-term conditions.