ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT04731272Updated May 18, 2026

GLP-1 Agonist Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis-Related Glucose Intolerance

A Phase 2 interventional study of Dulaglutide 0.75Mg/0.5Ml Inj Pen in Cystic Fibrosis, Pancreatic Insufficiency and Abnormal Glucose Tolerance, sponsored by University of Pennsylvania. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-18.

Sponsored by University of Pennsylvania · Phase 2, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jul 2021; still recruiting 5 years 3 months later.
Phase
Phase 2
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Diabetes is a major co-morbidity in pancreatic insufficient cystic fibrosis (PI-CF) and associated with worse outcomes. While reduced β-cell mass contributes to the insulin secretory defects that characterizes cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD), other modifiable determinants appear operative in the emergence and progression of abnormal glucose tolerance towards diabetes. Identifying interventions to preserve β-cell function are crucial for delaying and potentially preventing CFRD development. In this study, we hypothesize that weekly administration of the long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist dulaglutide will improve defective early-phase insulin secretion and improve glucose tolerance during a mixed-meal tolerance test.

Read the detailed description

Diabetes is a major co-morbidity in pancreatic insufficient cystic fibrosis (PI-CF) and associated with worse outcomes. While reduced β-cell mass contributes to the insulin secretory defects that characterizes cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD), other modifiable determinants appear operative in the emergence and progression of abnormal glucose tolerance towards diabetes. Identifying interventions to preserve β-cell function are crucial for delaying and potentially preventing CFRD development. In this study, we hypothesize that weekly administration of the long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist dulaglutide will improve defective early-phase insulin secretion and improve glucose tolerance during a mixed-meal tolerance test.

02

Conditions studied

  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Pancreatic Insufficiency
  • Abnormal Glucose Tolerance
  • Diabetes

Keywords

  • Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes
  • Glucose Intolerance
  • Insulin Secretion
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1)
03

In context

Cystic Fibrosis

1,619 studies on the registry are indexed under Cystic Fibrosis; 199 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 36 across 1,051 interventional studies indexed under Cystic Fibrosis.

Browse Cystic Fibrosis studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Pennsylvania is the lead sponsor of 1,668 studies on the registry; 235 are open to participants now.

Of its 158 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 109 (69%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • 1. Male or female, aged ≥18 years on date of consent
  • 2. Confirmed diagnosis of CF, defined by positive sweat test or Cystic Fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutation analysis according to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) diagnostic criteria.
  • 3. Pancreatic insufficiency defined by clinical requirement for pancreatic enzyme replacement.
  • 4. Abnormal glucose tolerance defined by OGTT criteria for EGI, IGT, or CFRD, or diagnosed CFRD.

    1. There will be no restriction on enrollment of individuals with CFRD but without fasting hyperglycemia (fasting hyperglycemia is defined as fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL)
    2. Individuals with CFRD and fasting hyperglycemia (defined as above or by the use of basal insulin therapy) must also have a ≤8% and a random (non-fasting) C-peptide ≥1.2 ng/mL17; enrollment of this subgroup will be limited to n =10.
  • 5. Ability to take subcutaneous medication and be willing to adhere to the weekly administration regimen and complete study specific procedures (MMTT)
  • 6. For females of : use of highly effective for at least 1 month prior to screening and agreement to use such a method during study participation and for an additional 6 weeks after the end of dulaglutide or observation administration; oral contraceptives, intra-uterine devices, Norplant®, Depo-Provera®, and barrier devices with spermicide are acceptable contraceptive methods; condoms used alone are not acceptable

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1. \<19 kg/m2
  • 2. Presence of first-degree atrioventricular block or other evidence for cardiac conduction system or structural heart defects
  • 3. Pregnancy or lactation; a negative urine pregnancy test will be required at enrollment
  • 4. Known allergic reactions to any GLP-1 agonist, and any history of severe reactions (anaphylaxis or angioedema)
  • 5. Personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN2)
  • 6. Pulmonary exacerbation requiring IV antibiotics or systemic within 4 weeks prior to study procedures
  • 7. Gastrointestinal symptom exacerbation defined by current nausea/vomiting or diarrhea
  • 8. Established diagnosis of non-CF diabetes (e.g. type 1 diabetes) or CFRD with fasting hyperglycemia (fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL [use of prandial insulin or repaglinide will be permitted])
  • 9. History of clinically symptomatic pancreatitis within the last year
  • 10. Prior lung, liver or other solid organ transplant
  • 11. Severe CF liver disease, as defined by the presence of portal hypertension
  • 12. History of fundoplication-related dumping syndrome
  • 13. \<10 g/dL, within 90 days of study procedures or at screening
  • 14. Abnormal renal function, within 90 days of study procedures or at screening; defined as creatinine >2x (ULN) or potassium >5.5mEq/L on non-hemolyzed specimen
  • 15. History of any illness or condition that, in the opinion of the investigator might confound the results of the study or pose an additional risk to the subject
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(8)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

HbA1c

A blood test of average blood sugar over the past two to three months, given as a percentage or in mmol/mol. 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) or more is the usual threshold for diabetes, normally confirmed by a second test.

Reproductive potential

Able to have children. For women this usually means from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery; for men, unless permanently sterile. Read who the line is about — participants, women, men, or their partners.

Criteria about it usually ask for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Dulaglutide

    The Mixed Meal Tolerance Test as described in the primary outcome section will be performed at baseline and after 6 weeks of dulaglutide therapy in the intervention period.

    Drug: Dulaglutide 0.75Mg/0.5Ml Inj Pen

  • No intervention
    Observation

    The Mixed Meal Tolerance Test as described in the primary outcome section will be performed at baseline and after 6 weeks of no intervention in the observation period.

Interventions

  • DrugDulaglutide 0.75Mg/0.5Ml Inj Pen

    Drug page: Dulaglutide

    Randomized, open-label, cross-over study of 6 weeks exposure to dulaglutide 0.75 mg subcutaneous weekly or observation.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Early-phase insulin secretion

    The primary outcome measure is the insulin secretory rate during the first 30-min during a mixed meal tolerance test (ISR-AUC30).

    Time frame: 18 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Early-phase insulin secretion adjusted for glucose excursion

    This secondary outcome measure is insulin secretory rate/glucose area under cure during the first 30-min during a mixed meal tolerance test (ISR-AUC30/ Glc-AUC30)

    Time frame: 18 weeks

  2. Glucose tolerance

    This secondary outcome measure is mixed meal tolerance test-related glucose area under the curve over 180 min (Glc-AUC180).

    Time frame: 18 weeks

07

Study locations

2 of 2 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Upon completion of enrollment.

Supporting information: Informed consent form

Time frame: Upon completion of enrollment.

Access criteria: Consent will be uploaded to CT.gov

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jul 2021 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jun 2027, 71 months after the start.

Of 57 phase 2 interventional studies under Cystic Fibrosis, half reached primary completion within 21 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 9 and three quarters within 34. This study's planned 71 months is above that.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 26, 2021
First posted
Jan 29, 2021
StartActual
Jul 16, 2021
Primary completionEst.
Jun 30, 2027
CompletionEst.
Jun 30, 2028
Last update
May 18, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 18, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04731272
Collaborators
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's Hospital Colorado
Responsible party
Michael R. Rickels, MD, MS (Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 29, 2021
Start date
Jul 16, 2021
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 30, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
May 18, 2026

Study contacts

Paola Alvarado, MS
Contact
Paola.Alvarado@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
215-746-2081
Cornelia Dalton-Bakes
Contact
corneliv@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
215-746-2085
Michael R Rickels, MD, MS
principal investigator · University of Pennsylvania
Andrea Kelly, MD, MSCE
principal investigator · Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Studies of the drug tested here: Dulaglutide

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