Semaglutide Offers Functional and Vascular Gains in PAD and T2D, with Subodh Verma, MD, PhD

Updated data from the STRIDE trial demonstrate semaglutide’s beneficial effects on symptoms, quality of life, and disease progression in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).

These findings 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.

The newest data show that over 52 weeks, semaglutide (n = 396) was associated with a significant improvement in maximum walking distance compared to placebo (n = 396), with a median ratio to baseline in maximum walking distance of 1.21 in the semaglutide group compared to 1.08 in the placebo group, as well as in hemodynamics. Participants in the semaglutide group also had a 54% reduction in disease progression risk, which accounted for deaths, major adverse limb events, or the need for rescue medication. Investigators found semaglutide’s safety in the study to be consistent with its known safety profile and well tolerated.

HCPLive spoke with Verma during the conference to learn more about the landmark findings for people with T2D and PAD. He stressed the importance of these findings given the large unmet need in this population for different medication options.

“For all of the trial endpoints, i.e. quality of life, function, hemodynamics, and disease progression, we found a favorable effect of semaglutide for people with PAD. I think this is a great win for people with diabetes who have prevalent and early-stage PAD. And, there's many reasons to use a GLP-1 RA. You don't need to have PAD to use a GLP-1 RA. But this adds yet another avenue for us to think about in the treatment of people with PAD,” 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.