What the human research shows
A well-proven diabetes drug with a real cardiovascular benefit and a modest effect on weight. Its place on this site is as a comparator: it shows what a GLP-1 drug does when it is not built for weight loss.
Evidence profile0–5
- Metabolic & weightA3.3
- CardiovascularA1.7
- Muscle & growth—0.0
- Healing & repair—0.0
- Neuro & sleep—0.0
- Immune & inflammation—0.0
- Sexual & hormonal—0.0
- Skin & appearance—0.0
- Ageing & longevity—0.0
| Outcome | Grade | Effect size | Human studies | Where the evidence comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major cardiovascular events (type 2 diabetes) | AEstablished | Small | 1 large RCT (n=9,901, median 5.4 yr) | Twelve percent fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths than placebo, in a population where two-thirds had risk factors but no prior cardiovascular disease — the broadest such population of any GLP-1 outcomes trial.1 |
| Blood glucose (HbA1c) | AEstablished | Moderate | AWARD programme (10+ RCTs) | Approval-grade reductions in HbA1c across the AWARD trials against placebo and active comparators; the licensed indication.2 |
| Body weight | AEstablished | Small | AWARD programme | Consistent but modest weight loss of a few kilograms at the diabetes doses; higher doses (3 mg, 4.5 mg) add a little more. It is not approved for weight management and is not comparable to semaglutide 2.4 mg or tirzepatide.2 |
| All-cause mortality | AEstablished | Not measurable | REWIND | Deaths from any cause were numerically lower but the difference was not statistically significant.1 |
| Gastrointestinal adverse effectsadverse | AEstablished | Moderate | REWIND | Nearly half of participants reported a gastrointestinal adverse event over the trial, against a third on placebo — the class profile.1 |
Literature searched to 10 September 2026. Human studies only; animal and cell work informs the mechanism section and nothing else.
Registered trials
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 109 interventional studies naming Dulaglutide as an intervention — 85 completed, 7 recruiting, and 60 with results posted to the registry.
A registration is not a result. Anyone can register a study, and many never report — so this list shows what has been attempted, not what has been shown. The graded evidence above is the answer to whether something works.
| Study | Phase | Status | Participants | Sponsor | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Study Comparing the Dulaglutide Pen and the Semaglutide PenNCT03724981 · started Oct 2018 | Phase 4 | Completed | 312 | Eli Lilly and Company | Posted |
| A Study of Tirzepatide (LY3298176) in Adult Participants With Type 2 Diabetes Switching From Dulaglutide (SURPASS-SWITCH)NCT05564039 · started Nov 2022 | Phase 4 | Completed | 282 | Eli Lilly and Company | Posted |
| A Study of Dulaglutide (LY2189265) in Participants With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in IndiaNCT05659537 · started Dec 2022 | Phase 4 | Completed | 212 | Eli Lilly and Company | Posted |
| A Study of Dulaglutide in Japanese Participants With Type 2 DiabetesNCT02750410 · started Aug 2016 | Phase 4 | Completed | 159 | Eli Lilly and Company | Posted |
| Comparison of Injection Site Pain Experience for Semaglutide and Dulaglutide scNCT04189848 · started Dec 2019 | Phase 4 | Completed | 104 | Novo Nordisk A/S | Posted |
| Metabolic Phenotyping During Stress Hyperglycemia in Cardiac Surgery PatientsNCT03743025 · started Mar 2019 | Phase 4 | Terminated | 28 | Emory University | Posted |
| GLP-1 Therapy: The Role of IL-6 Signaling and Adipose Tissue Remodeling in Metabolic ResponseNCT04387201 · started May 2020 | Phase 4 | Completed | 23 | The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston | Posted |
| Perioperative Stress Hyperglycemia in General and Vascular Surgery PatientsNCT04862234 · started Aug 2021 | Phase 4 | Terminated | 16 | Emory University | Posted |
101 further studies are registered. Participant counts marked * are the sponsor's estimate, not a final enrolment. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, read directly from the registry and refreshed weekly.
What it is
Dulaglutide is a fusion protein: two copies of a modified GLP-1 sequence attached to the Fc portion of a human antibody, which slows its clearance enough for once-weekly injection. Lilly launched it as Trulicity in 2014.
It sits between liraglutide and semaglutide in the class history — weekly like semaglutide, but with the weight effect of an earlier generation. Its lasting contribution is REWIND, which extended the cardiovascular case for GLP-1 drugs to people without established heart disease.
How it is thought to work
Like every GLP-1 receptor agonist it increases insulin release when glucose is high, suppresses glucagon, slows gastric emptying and reduces appetite. The antibody fragment is inert; it exists to make the molecule last a week.
What is still unknown
- Whether the higher doses now approved for glucose add cardiovascular benefit — REWIND used 1.5 mg.
- Direct comparisons with tirzepatide on hard outcomes; SURPASS-CVOT compared tirzepatide with dulaglutide and found non-inferiority.
The molecule and how long it lasts
A fusion protein (two GLP-1 analogue chains on an antibody Fc fragment) — no small-molecule record
- Route
- Subcutaneous injection, once weekly
- Half-life
- About 5 days
- Licensed regimen (Trulicity)
- 0.75 mg weekly; after 4 weeks increase to 1.5 mg weekly; may increase in 1.5 mg increments after at least 4 weeks; maximum 4.5 mg weekly
From the approved product's prescribing information: Trulicity prescribing information (DailyMed) The regimen is the label's own wording, reproduced as a regulatory fact.
Regulatory status
Centrally authorised (Trulicity) for type 2 diabetes since 2014.
FDA-approved 2014 for type 2 diabetes; 2020 for cardiovascular risk reduction in type 2 diabetes.
MHRA-licensed for type 2 diabetes.
On the ARTG for type 2 diabetes.
Health Canada-authorised for type 2 diabetes.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are not on the Prohibited List.
Questions people actually ask
Is dulaglutide good for weight loss?
Does dulaglutide protect the heart?
Dulaglutide or semaglutide?
One page per claimed effect
- ADoes Dulaglutide help with major cardiovascular events?1 large RCT (n=9,901, median 5.4 yr)
- ADoes Dulaglutide help with blood glucose?AWARD programme (10+ RCTs)
- ADoes Dulaglutide help with body weight?AWARD programme
- ADoes Dulaglutide help with all-cause mortality?REWIND
- AHow common is gastrointestinal adverse effects with Dulaglutide?REWIND
References
- 1Gerstein HC, Colhoun HM, Dagenais GR, et al. Dulaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes (REWIND): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial.Lancet, 20199,901 participants; median 5.4 years; HR 0.88.
- 2Dulaglutide (Trulicity) product information and the AWARD clinical programme.FDA / EMA product informationLicensed indications and the glucose and weight data behind them.
Change log
- 2026-09-10Initial publication. Grade A on REWIND and the AWARD programme.