Type 2 diabetes evidence: the LEAD program

Six trials that made liraglutide a diabetes standard

Liraglutide earned its first approval on the strength of the LEAD program: six randomized trials (LEAD-1 through LEAD-6) that tested it across the real landscape of type 2 diabetes care, alone and combined with metformin, sulfonylureas, insulin, and other agents.

This unit walks what LEAD actually showed: roughly a one-percentage-point drop in HbA1c, modest weight loss where competing drugs caused weight gain, a clean head-to-head win over twice-daily exenatide, and a low hypoglycemia rate. It is the evidence base that defined the approved diabetes doses.