Trulicity: Uses, How It Works, Side Effects, Cost, Coverage

Trulicity is a weekly injection of dulaglutide made by Eli Lilly, first FDA approved in 2014, for type 2 diabetes and heart risk. List price is $1,006.93 per fill before insurance. Nausea is the most common side effect in its label: 21.1% vs 5.3% on placebo.

Active ingredient: dulaglutide
Manufacturer: Eli Lilly
How it is taken: weekly injection
First FDA approval: 2014
List price: $1,006.93 per fill
Most common side effect: Nausea 21.1% vs 5.3% on placebo
FDA shortage: Not on the FDA shortage list

A quick look at Trulicity

How long it lasts in the body

Its half-life is about 5 days: after 5 d, half is gone, and after five half-lives (25 d) about 3% is left.

Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).

Uses and forms of Trulicity

Taken from the FDA label: Trulicity uses, forms and warnings. Your dose is set by your prescriber and the label.

A quick look at Trulicity
	What the label says
Approved use	It lowers blood sugar for adults and for children 10 and older who have type 2 diabetes, when used along with diet and exercise.
Approved use	In adults with type 2 diabetes who have heart disease, or who have several heart risk factors, it cuts the chance of a heart attack, a stroke, or heart-related death.
Forms	Single-dose pen
Strengths on the label	0.75 mg, 1.5 mg, 3 mg, 4.5 mg
Boxed warning	Boxed warning: it caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents, and whether it does in people is not known. Do not use it if you or a family member has a history of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), or if you have MEN 2.
Storage	It belongs in the fridge; a pen may stay at room temperature, no more than 86°F, for 14 days total. Do not freeze.

Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).

What the Trulicity trials found

Results from Trulicity's main trials
Trial	Who took part	Length	Group	A1C change
AWARD-11	Adults with type 2 diabetes on metformin	36 weeks	Dulaglutide 1.5 mg weekly	-1.54 percentage points (mean HbA1c change)
AWARD-11	Adults with type 2 diabetes on metformin	36 weeks	Dulaglutide 4.5 mg weekly	-1.77 percentage points (mean HbA1c change)

Sources: PubMed 1 2.

Side effects of Trulicity

How often each side effect appeared in the label's trials, compared with placebo (a dummy treatment). The study included adults who had type 2 diabetes.

Table 1: Adverse Reactions from Pool of Placebo-Controlled Trials That Occurred in ≥5% of TRULICITY-Treated Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Side effect	Trulicity 0.75 mg	Trulicity 1.5 mg	Placebo
Nausea	12.4%	21.1%	5.3%
Vomiting	6%	12.7%	2.3%
Diarrhea	8.9%	12.6%	6.7%
Abdominal Pain	6.5%	9.4%	4.9%
Decreased Appetite	4.9%	8.6%	1.6%
Dyspepsia	4.1%	5.8%	2.3%

Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).

Warnings on the label: Risk of Thyroid C-cell Tumors, Acute Pancreatitis, Hypoglycemia with Concomitant Use of Insulin Secretagogues or Insulin, Hypersensitivity Reactions, Acute Kidney Injury Due to Volume Depletion, Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions, Diabetic Retinopathy Complications in Patients with a History of Diabetic Retinopathy and Acute Gallbladder Disease.

Get medical help right away when

Intense belly pain that does not stop, sometimes reaching your back, with or without vomiting: stop taking this medicine and get medical help now.
Yellow skin or eyes, fever, clay-colored stools, or pain in the upper right belly: call your doctor (possible gallbladder problem).
If vomiting or diarrhea means you cannot keep fluids down, call your doctor, since dehydration may harm your kidneys. The same applies if you urinate much less than usual.
Shaking, sweating, confusion, a fast heartbeat or fainting may mean low blood sugar, especially when you also use insulin or a sulfonylurea. Treat the low blood sugar and call your doctor.
Call your doctor if Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea is severe or does not ease.

If your face or throat swells, your breathing is troubled, or you faint, dial 911.

Taken from the label warnings: FDA label (DailyMed).

Interactions: Trulicity

Interactions listed on the Trulicity drug label
Taken with	What the label says
Insulin or sulfonylureas	The risk of low blood sugar goes up when it is used with insulin, or with a sulfonylurea such as glipizide or glimepiride; your doctor may lower those doses.
Oral medicines	It slows how fast the stomach empties, and that can change how other pills are absorbed.
Warfarin and narrow-range drugs	Drugs such as warfarin need closer monitoring because small changes in their level matter.

Sources: FDA label (DailyMed).

Check a GLP-1 interaction

Which GLP-1 medicine?1 of 2

What do you want to combine it with?2 of 2

Cost and coverage for Trulicity

Trulicity prices by route
How you pay	Price
List price before insurance	$1,006.93 per fill
Trulicity Savings Card (insured)	from $25 for up to a 3-month fill

Prices were checked in November 2026: pricinginfo.lilly.com, trulicity.lilly.com.

Alternatives to Trulicity

Trulicity: other medicines with the same use
Medicine	Ingredient	How it is taken	Shared use	Trial weight loss	Self-pay from
Ozempic	semaglutide	weekly injection	heart risk and type 2 diabetes	Not listed	$199 per month
Wegovy	semaglutide	weekly injection or daily tablet	heart risk	14.9%	$149 per month
Rybelsus	semaglutide	daily tablet	heart risk and type 2 diabetes	Not listed	Not listed
Mounjaro	tirzepatide	weekly injection	heart risk and type 2 diabetes	Not listed	Not listed
Victoza	liraglutide	daily injection	heart risk and type 2 diabetes	Not listed	Not listed
Byetta	exenatide	twice-daily injection	type 2 diabetes	Not listed	Not listed

Trulicity: Uses, How It Works, Side Effects, Cost, Coverage

A quick look at Trulicity

Uses and forms of Trulicity

What the Trulicity trials found

Side effects of Trulicity

Interactions: Trulicity

Check a GLP-1 interaction

Cost and coverage for Trulicity

Alternatives to Trulicity

Trulicity label and research studies

All Trulicity pages

Safety and side effects

Interactions

Who the medicine is for

How it compares with other drugs

Cost plus savings and coverage

Ways to get a prescription

Living with it

Label, trials and news