the wonder years

A look into the popularity and potential of GLP-1 weight loss drugs

- By Anne-France! Hutchinson

Hope. It keeps us alive, chasing a future where promise takes root, grows and heals. Hope is risky, challenging our resilience and daring us to hold on through thrilling peaks and solemn valleys. As advances in anti-obesity medicine feed the hopes of millions, we find ourselves at the beginning of an exhilarating climb.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a natural incretin hormone produced in the small intestine, helps to regulate blood sugar, appetite, and digestion. When we eat, GLP-1 is naturally released from our small intestine to stimulate insulin release, suppress the release of the glucagon hormone that raises blood sugar levels, slows down digestion, and reduces appetite.

GLP-1 agonists are a class of medications that mainly help manage blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes that can also help treat obesity. The first GLP-1 agonist, exenatide, was approved by the FDA for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in 2005.

GLP-1 receptor agonists are medications that mimic the action of this natural hormone. Some have since been approved for weight management in some individuals, kicking a race to discover other possible uses and benefits into high gear. illness and health as profoundly as Valium did in the 1960s or Prozac in the 1980s,” according to the Stat News Obesity Report: How GLP-1 drugs are changing science, business, health care, and society.

Several factors contribute to the widespread interest in these drugs. Because supply chain issues and other restrictions have improved, companies are making big investments to increase production and ramping up M&A activity with compatible drug makers.