Comparing prescription weight-loss medicines for heart and metabolic health
Official title: Comparative effectiveness of anti-obesity medications for cardiometabolic health outcomes and health services use
Funded at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. · NIH-11238523 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares different prescription weight-loss medicines to see how they affect heart health, diabetes-related outcomes, and use of health care among adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Canton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | December 15, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $670,441 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL171293-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11238523 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with obesity, particularly those with or at risk for type 2 diabetes who are starting or considering prescription anti-obesity medications, are the most relevant candidates for the findings of this work.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21, those not using prescription anti-obesity drugs, and individuals whose care is not captured in U.S. commercial insurance claims will not be represented and may not benefit directly from this analysis.
What this research studies
If I have obesity or type 2 diabetes, this work will look at real-world insurance records from over 350,000 adults who started prescription weight-loss drugs to compare how different medicines affect weight-related and cardiometabolic outcomes. The team will follow people over time using a nationwide commercial claims dataset to track events like hospital visits, diabetes control, and medication side effects. By comparing patterns of health outcomes and health services use across drugs, the researchers aim to identify which options are safer or more effective in everyday practice. The results are intended to help patients, clinicians, and insurers make better-informed choices about anti-obesity medications.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help patients and doctors choose safer, more effective weight-loss medications that reduce diabetes and heart complications and avoid unnecessary health care use.
How similar studies have gone: Randomized trials have shown newer anti-obesity drugs can produce meaningful, sustained weight loss and metabolic improvements, but large-scale, head-to-head real-world comparisons across multiple drugs are still limited.
Where this research is happening
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Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
Canton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Toh, Darren — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Toh, Darren
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.