Type 2 Diabetes MellitusON TARGET DMNCT05073692
Comparison of Type 2 Diabetes Pharmacotherapy Regimens
An observational study of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Diseases, run by Kaiser Permanente at 6 sites in United States.
Trial summary
This study is designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes and their clinicians: (a) identify which glucose lowering medications have the most favorable effects on heart health and other patient-important outcomes, (b) inform the timing of medication initiation, and (c) identify whether medication benefits apply… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases
- What is being tested?
- SU, DPP4 and SGLT2i
- How many people
- 241,981 participants
- Where
- 6 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Jul 2021to 12 Mar 2025
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Patients from six large care delivery systems with integrated administrative and EHR clinical data sources (Geisinger in Pennsylvania, Henry Ford Health System in Michigan, HealthPartners Institute in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, Southern California, and Hawaii) who were new users of glucose-lowering medications between 01/01/2014 and 12/31/2021.
- Dispensing of either of the set of drugs being compared
- No prior dispensing of nor contraindication for any of the drugs compared
- Evidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus diagnosis
- Age 18 or older
- Not currently pregnant
- No evidence of dementia or short-term life expectancy from prior cancer diagnoses
- History of ≥2 years of continuous health plan membership
- ≥1 A1c test in the past 18 months
Trial locations and contacts
6 sites in 1 country.
6 sites in 1 country
United States6 sites
HealthPartners Institute
Bloomington, Minnesota, 55425
Geisinger
Danville, Pennsylvania, 17821
Henry Ford Health System
Detroit, Michigan, 48202
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii, 96817
Kaiser Permanente Southern California
Pasadena, California, 91101
Romain S. Neugebauer
Pleasanton, California, 94588
About this study
Official title: Comparison of Type 2 Diabetes Pharmacotherapy Regimens Using Targeted Learning
This study is designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes and their clinicians: (a) identify which glucose lowering medications have the most favorable effects on heart health and other patient-important outcomes, (b) inform the timing of medication initiation, and (c) identify whether medication benefits apply equally to all adults with type 2 diabetes, or may be different based on age, sex, race/ethnicity, baseline heart health status, baseline renal function, or other factors.
Read the detailed description
The study will conduct head-to-head comparisons of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment strategies using observational data from real-world clinical settings to assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and other patient-centered outcomes in T2DM patients with moderate baseline CVD risk who are treated with each of these four classes of glucose-lowering medications known as SGLT2, GLP-1RA, DPP4, and SU. To mitigate bias concerns related to confounding and informative loss to follow-up, analyses will be based on modern causal inference methods combined with machine learning that emulate intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses of pragmatic randomized trials with active comparators to provide the most robust and precise estimates of relative and absolute effects we would expect in usual care settings.
Specific Aims and Hypotheses:
Aim 1. Compare the effect off SGLT21, GLP-1RA, DPP4, and SU on each study outcome in adults with T2DM when each type of medication is (a) initiated as second-line therapy after metformin, and (b) initiated as first-, second-, or third-line therapy, or after any history of glucose-lowering therapy independent of prior metformin use.
Aim 2. Compare the effect on each study outcome of earlier versus later initiation of SGLT2i, GLP-1RA, DPP4, SU as first-, or second-, or third-line therapy, or after any history of glucose-lowering therapy triggered by various changes in A1C, or CVD risk, or other patient characteristics.
Aim 3. Assess in each of the prior analyses whether the treatment effects on study outcomes vary across categories of baseline CVD risk and CVD event history, renal function, congestive heart failure status, age, sex and race/ethnicity, or other patient characteristics.
Glucose-lowering medications will be compared at both the class and agent level. The key outcomes that will be considered are MACE 3-point, Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Heart Failure, Hospitalization, Coronary or Carotid Artery Stent or Bypass Procedure, CVD Mortality, Overall Mortality. Additional patient-centered outcomes will be specified based on insights from stakeholder members of the research team.
- Conditions
- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases
- Being tested
- SU, DPP4, SGLT2i, GLP-1RA, SGLT2i or GLP-1RA
- Keywords
- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, Medication, Treatment
- Medical subject headings
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Cardiovascular Diseases
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SUDrug
Exposure to the class of drugs known as Sulfonylureas (SU)
DPP4Drug
Exposure to the class of drugs known as Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4)
SGLT2iDrug
Exposure to the class of drugs known as Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i)
GLP-1RADrug
Exposure to the class of drugs known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA)
SGLT2i or GLP-1RADrug
Exposure to either SGLT2i or GLP-1RA
Linagliptin (DPP4)Drug
Exposure to agent Linagliptin (DPP4)
Exenatide (GLP-1RA)Drug
Exposure to agent Exenatide (GLP1-RA)
Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)Drug
Exposure to agent Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)
Empagliflozin (SGLT2i)Drug
Exposure to agent Empagliflozin (SGLT2i)
Glimepiride (SU)Drug
Exposure to agent Glimepiride (SU)
Glipizide (SU)Drug
Exposure to Glimepiride (SU)
Glimepiride (SU) or Glipizide (SU)Drug
Exposure to agent Glimepiride (SU) or Glipizide (SU)
SU or DPP4 (excluding saxagliptin and alogliptin)Drug
Exposure to either SU or DPP4 excluding Saxagliptin and Alogliptin
Exenatide (GLP-1RA) or Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)Drug
Exposure to either Exenatide (GLP-1RA) or Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Incidence of 3-point Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE)
3-point MACE is defined as a single outcome measure, which is a composite measure of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular disease death.
Measured: 2.5 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted11 Oct 2021
- Study start1 Jul 2021
- Primary completion31 Dec 2024
- Study completion12 Mar 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
- Publications (4)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Type 2 Diabetes MellitusStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Kaiser PermanenteThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Retrospective
- Enrolment
- 241,981 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Kaiser Permanente
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Geisinger Clinic, Henry Ford Health System, HealthPartners Institute, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Romain S. Neugebauer, PhD, Principal investigator, Kaiser PermanentePatrick J O'Connor, MD, MA, MPH, Principal investigator, HealthPartners Institute
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05073692
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 739857
- Acronym
- ON TARGET DM
- Status last verified
- Nov 2025
- First submitted
- 14 Sep 2021
- Last updated
- 21 Nov 2025
- Results posted
- Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- Yes
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Thomas TW, Hooker SA, Schmittdiel JA. Principles for Stakeholder Engagement in Observational Health Research. JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Mar 1;5(3):e240114. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0114.
PubMed 38488777Rodriguez LA, Finertie H, Neugebauer RS, Gosiker B, Thomas TW, Karter AJ, Gilliam LK, Oshiro C, An J, Simonson G, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Dombrowski S, Nolan M, O'Connor PJ, Schmittdiel JA. Race and ethnicity and pharmacy dispensing of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists in type 2 diabetes. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 May 7;34:100759. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100759. eCollection 2024 Jun.
PubMed 38745886Thapa B, Schmittdiel JA, Arterburn D, Neugebauer R, Dyer W, O'Connor PJ, An J, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Gilliam LK, Hooker SA, Nolan MB, Oshiro CES, Thomas T, Simonson G, Dombrowski SK, Rodriguez LA. Clinical and Demographic Characteristics Associated With Diabetes Remission in Six Integrated Health Care Systems: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Diabetes Care. 2025 Oct 1;48(10):1737-1743. doi: 10.2337/dc25-0530.
PubMed 40734551Neugebauer R, An J, Dombrowski SK, Oshiro C, Cassidy-Bushrow A, Gilliam L, Simonson G, Karter AJ, Bergenstal R, Finertie H, Yassin MM, Knowlton G, Lin SR, Dyer W, Pimentel N, Izadian K, Schmittdiel J, Thomas TW, Hooker SA, Nolan MB, Wright E, Aurora L, Rodriguez LA, Kaur J, Adams AS, van der Laan MJ, O'Connor PJ. Glucose-Lowering Medication Classes and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Oct 1;8(10):e2536100. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.36100.
PubMed 41091469
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 21 Nov 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Comparison of Type 2 Diabetes Pharmacotherapy Regimens Using Targeted Learning
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05073692
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- ON TARGET DM / 739857
- Conditions
- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases
- Keywords
- Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Cardiovascular Diseases, Medication, Treatment
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 241,981 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Kaiser PermanenteUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Geisinger Clinic, Henry Ford Health System, HealthPartners Institute, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
- Study start
- 1 Jul 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Dec 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 12 Mar 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 11 Oct 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Posted 21 Nov 2025
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study is designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes and their clinicians: (a) identify which glucose lowering medications have the most favorable effects on heart health and other patient-important outcomes, (b) inform the timing of medication initiation, and (c) identify whether medication benefits apply equally to all adults with type 2 diabetes, or may be different based on age, sex, race/ethnicity, baseline heart health status, baseline renal function, or other factors.
Detailed description
The study will conduct head-to-head comparisons of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment strategies using observational data from real-world clinical settings to assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and other patient-centered outcomes in T2DM patients with moderate baseline CVD risk who are treated with each of these four classes of glucose-lowering medications known as SGLT2, GLP-1RA, DPP4, and SU. To mitigate bias concerns related to confounding and informative loss to follow-up, analyses will be based on modern causal inference methods combined with machine learning that emulate intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses of pragmatic randomized trials with active comparators to provide the most robust and precise estimates of relative and absolute effects we would expect in usual care settings.
Specific Aims and Hypotheses:
Aim 1. Compare the effect off SGLT21, GLP-1RA, DPP4, and SU on each study outcome in adults with T2DM when each type of medication is (a) initiated as second-line therapy after metformin, and (b) initiated as first-, second-, or third-line therapy, or after any history of glucose-lowering therapy independent of prior metformin use.
Aim 2. Compare the effect on each study outcome of earlier versus later initiation of SGLT2i, GLP-1RA, DPP4, SU as first-, or second-, or third-line therapy, or after any history of glucose-lowering therapy triggered by various changes in A1C, or CVD risk, or other patient characteristics.
Aim 3. Assess in each of the prior analyses whether the treatment effects on study outcomes vary across categories of baseline CVD risk and CVD event history, renal function, congestive heart failure status, age, sex and race/ethnicity, or other patient characteristics.
Glucose-lowering medications will be compared at both the class and agent level. The key outcomes that will be considered are MACE 3-point, Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, Heart Failure, Hospitalization, Coronary or Carotid Artery Stent or Bypass Procedure, CVD Mortality, Overall Mortality. Additional patient-centered outcomes will be specified based on insights from stakeholder members of the research team.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Retrospective
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Patients from six large care delivery systems with integrated administrative and EHR clinical data sources (Geisinger in Pennsylvania, Henry Ford Health System in Michigan, HealthPartners Institute in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, Southern California, and Hawaii) who were new users of glucose-lowering medications between 01/01/2014 and 12/31/2021.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| SUExposure to the class of drugs known as Sulfonylureas (SU) | Drug | – |
| DPP4Exposure to the class of drugs known as Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4) | Drug | – |
| SGLT2iExposure to the class of drugs known as Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) | Drug | – |
| GLP-1RAExposure to the class of drugs known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) | Drug | – |
| SGLT2i or GLP-1RAExposure to either SGLT2i or GLP-1RA | Drug | – |
| Linagliptin (DPP4)Exposure to agent Linagliptin (DPP4) | Drug | – |
| Exenatide (GLP-1RA)Exposure to agent Exenatide (GLP1-RA) | Drug | – |
| Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)Exposure to agent Liraglutide (GLP-1RA) | Drug | – |
| Empagliflozin (SGLT2i)Exposure to agent Empagliflozin (SGLT2i) | Drug | – |
| Glimepiride (SU)Exposure to agent Glimepiride (SU) | Drug | – |
| Glipizide (SU)Exposure to Glimepiride (SU) | Drug | – |
| Glimepiride (SU) or Glipizide (SU)Exposure to agent Glimepiride (SU) or Glipizide (SU) | Drug | – |
| SU or DPP4 (excluding saxagliptin and alogliptin)Exposure to either SU or DPP4 excluding Saxagliptin and Alogliptin | Drug | – |
| Exenatide (GLP-1RA) or Liraglutide (GLP-1RA)Exposure to either Exenatide (GLP-1RA) or Liraglutide (GLP-1RA) | Drug | – |
Primary outcome
Incidence of 3-point Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE)
Time frame: 2.5 years
3-point MACE is defined as a single outcome measure, which is a composite measure of nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular disease death.
Results and safety
Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 21 Nov 2025.
- Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
- Background: PubMed 38488777Thomas TW, Hooker SA, Schmittdiel JA. Principles for Stakeholder Engagement in Observational Health Research. JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Mar 1;5(3):e240114. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0114.
- Results publication: PubMed 38745886Rodriguez LA, Finertie H, Neugebauer RS, Gosiker B, Thomas TW, Karter AJ, Gilliam LK, Oshiro C, An J, Simonson G, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Dombrowski S, Nolan M, O'Connor PJ, Schmittdiel JA. Race and ethnicity and pharmacy dispensing of SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists in type 2 diabetes. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2024 May 7;34:100759. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2024.100759. eCollection 2024 Jun.
- Results publication: PubMed 40734551Thapa B, Schmittdiel JA, Arterburn D, Neugebauer R, Dyer W, O'Connor PJ, An J, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Gilliam LK, Hooker SA, Nolan MB, Oshiro CES, Thomas T, Simonson G, Dombrowski SK, Rodriguez LA. Clinical and Demographic Characteristics Associated With Diabetes Remission in Six Integrated Health Care Systems: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Diabetes Care. 2025 Oct 1;48(10):1737-1743. doi: 10.2337/dc25-0530.
- Results publication: PubMed 41091469Neugebauer R, An J, Dombrowski SK, Oshiro C, Cassidy-Bushrow A, Gilliam L, Simonson G, Karter AJ, Bergenstal R, Finertie H, Yassin MM, Knowlton G, Lin SR, Dyer W, Pimentel N, Izadian K, Schmittdiel J, Thomas TW, Hooker SA, Nolan MB, Wright E, Aurora L, Rodriguez LA, Kaur J, Adams AS, van der Laan MJ, O'Connor PJ. Glucose-Lowering Medication Classes and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Oct 1;8(10):e2536100. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.36100.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Romain S. Neugebauer, PhD principal investigator
Kaiser Permanente
Patrick J O'Connor, MD, MA, MPH principal investigator
HealthPartners Institute
6 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Diseases, run by Kaiser Permanente at 6 sites in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Nov 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 6 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 21 Nov 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Incidence of 3-point Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE) (time frame: 2.5 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05073692, which also lists 4 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Nov 2025.