Daily Medication Pearl: Semaglutide (Rybelsus) for Type 2 Diabetes

Clinical Pearl of the Day: Semaglutide (Rybelsus)

Indication: Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Insight:

• Dosing: Instruct patients to take semaglutide at least 30 minutes before the first food, beverage, or other oral medications of the day with no more than 4 ounces of plain water only. Waiting less than 30 minutes or taking with food, beverages (other than plain water), or other oral medications will lessen the effect of semaglutide.
• Dosage form: Tablets in 3 mg, 7 mg, and 14 mg doses.
• Adverse events: The most common adverse reactions, reported in ≥5% of patients treated with semaglutide are nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, decreased appetite, vomiting, and constipation.
• Drug interactions: Fororal medications, semaglutide delays gastric emptying. When co-administering oral medications instruct patients to closely follow semaglutide administration instructions.
• Mechanism of Action: As a GLP-1 analogue, Semaglutide has 94% sequence homology to human GLP-1. Semaglutide acts as a GLP-1 receptor agonist that selectively binds to and activates the GLP-1 receptor, the target for native GLP-1.
• Manufacturer: Novo Nordisk

Sources:

• Rybelsus PI (novo-pi.com)
• Oral GLP-1 RA Medication | RYBELSUS® (semaglutide) tablets 7 mg or 14 mg (rybelsuspro.com)
• rybelsus image - Google Search