Expanding the Armamentarium for T2D and PAD With Semaglutide, with Subodh Verma, MD, PhD

Semaglutide continues to expand the borders of its benefits, with new data presenting it as a promising option for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).

These findings, from the STRIDE trial, were presented by Subodh Verma, MD, PhD, cardiac surgeon-scientist and Professor at University of Toronto and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Surgery, at the 2025 American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions, held June 20-23, in Chicago, Illinois.

Over 52 weeks, Verma and colleagues found that semaglutide demonstrated benefits on symptoms, quality of life, and disease progression compared to placebo. On maximum walking distance, the semaglutide group had a median ratio from baseline of 1.21 compared to 1.08 in the placebo group. Participants also had a 54% risk reduction in a composite disease progression endpoint which included deaths, major adverse limb events, or the need for rescue medication. Verma and colleagues found that semaglutide was well tolerated, with findings in line with its known safety profile.

HCPLive spoke with Verma during the conference to learn more about the new findings that support semaglutide's use for people with PAD. With an expanding treatment toolkit, he emphasized how clinicians should not hesitate to use these tools at their disposal, and that SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists can be complementary therapies. He also outlined some gaps in clinician education and further questions he would like to answer with semaglutide in this new potential indication.

"If we are to win the war against diabetes and cardiovascular complications, then knowledge like this will have to be coupled with pragmatic solutions with the goal of overcoming clinical inertia. And that, I think, is the biggest impediment in terms of making progress, is not just generating knowledge, but implementing that knowledge. So I think if we can come together as a community, have more conversations like this, find sort of simple and durable solutions to get this information into guidelines and into practice patterns, then I think we'll be able to close the care gap effectively," Verma told HCPLive.

Verma’s disclosures include Abbott, Amarin, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer.

REFERENCE

Verma S. Rationale and Key Results from STRIDE Trial. Presented at: ADA 2025; June 20-23; Chicago, Illinois.