Health
Ozempic, Mounjaro and other weight loss and diabetes drugs could treat many more conditions – here’s what scientists are looking at
Topline
Weight loss and diabetes may be just the beginning for drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, as more and more reports suggest they could have far-reaching benefits in treating conditions as diverse as heart and liver disease, Parkinson’s, anxiety and addiction. encouraging research among companies competing in the latest pharmaceutical gold rush.
GLP-1 drugs are being investigated for a range of other health problems, including addiction and liver … [+]
Key facts
Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound — brand names for the drugs semaglutide and tirzepatide — are by far the most famous members of a booming class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, which mimic the function of a gut hormone that is involved in regulating blood sugar levels and appetite, glucagon-like peptide-1.
GLP-1 drugs were initially approved for treatment diabetes and, more recently, obesityand as more and more people use the drugs, signs of other potential benefits are starting to appear and Novo has collected enough data to prove this and approval scored from the Food and Drug Administration in March to add cardiovascular benefits after Wegovy’s label (experts expect Zepbound will be shown to have similar heart benefits).
Lilly on Wednesday said it also looked at a label extension for Zepbound after a late-stage trial showed the drug “meaningfully improved.” sleep apnea symptoms,” meaning the drug “has the potential to be the first pharmaceutical treatment for the underlying disease,” according to Lilly senior vice president for product development Jeff Emmick, although the agency has yet to make a decision. .
Companies like Novo and Lilyas well as hopeful competitors such as Boehringer And Zeeland Pharmaare investigating GLP-1 drugs as a possible treatment for fatty liver diseasea old cemetery for pharmaceutical development up to the FDA authorized the initial treatment and other research, as studies show GLP-1s could be effective to deal with kidney disease,
Studies also indicate that the GLP-1 class could potentially help a range of brain areas disorderswhere they can help boost moodcognitive function and relieving symptoms for conditions included Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, depression, bipolar disorder And tensionareas that have long been notorious bottlenecks for pharmaceutical development.
Substance use disorders And addiction is another promising avenue after reports of reduced cravings among people taking GLP-1 drugs, although scientists are still to work to find out why – the drug could potentially be acting on areas of the skin brain and nervous system because these also produce the GLP-1 hormone or have relevant hormone receptors for it – confirming whether the drugs can indeed curb addiction.
In return for
Although the clinical trials required to bring a drug to market are extensive and rigorous and ensure that products are safe and effective, they rarely provide a complete picture of a drug. The sheer number of people who take a drug after approval, especially popular ones like semaglutide and tirzepatide, can shrink the number of people involved in a trial, and companies and regulators alike are keeping an eye on how they fare in the real world. While it is exciting when reports and data from more and more people using drugs indicate new potential benefits and applications, especially in areas such as mental health and liver diseases that have long eluded the efforts of pharmaceutical researchers, there is also the possibility that new information about negative consequences Effects can also occur. With weight loss and diabetes medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy, mental health problems and an increase in suicidal ideation have been the subject of much research, although recently published reviews from agencies such as the FDA and European Medicines Agency have cast doubt on the link and said that such a connection is unlikely.
Large number
$100 billion. That’s how much the weight loss drug market could be worth in 2030. analysts estimatealthough some believe the market could be may be worth a lot, much more than that. Novo and Lilly have already raked in billions from their obesity and diabetes drugs, and these drugs have helped them become some of the most valuable companies in the world.
What to pay attention to
Novo and Lilly currently have an effective duopoly in the GLP-1 market, especially when it comes to obesity. Experts such as Citi analyst Peter Verdult told Forbes that the wealth of data the pair can collect on semaglutide and tirzepatide will help them solidify their dominant positions and edge out competitors still racing to bring drugs to market. Adding things like cardiovascular benefits to Wegovy’s label will raise the bar for newcomers to compete, especially since there’s a clear limit to the benefits provided by improving the amount of weight loss, for example. “Some might say, that’s fine, I’ll just go with it, because it’s the same molecules, the same mechanism of action and everyone takes it for granted. But the bottom line is, if you’re a drug representative, you can’t promote that,” Verdult said.
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