The LEADER Trial: Where GLP-1 Cardiovascular Data Began

Before SELECT proved cardiovascular benefit for semaglutide in non-diabetic obesity, the LEADER trial established that liraglutide reduced major adverse cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk. This was a pivotal moment — it reframed GLP-1 agonists from glucose-lowering drugs to cardiometabolic agents.

Liraglutide requires daily dosing, which is the main reason newer weekly agents have largely supplanted it in practice. This thread reviews the LEADER data and liraglutide's place in the GLP-1 lineage.