Scientists say they’ve come up with a way for the body to produce its own store of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
GLP-1 is the naturally produced hormone whose function is being mimicked by drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide, the active ingredients in popular and highly effective weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound.
As CNN reports, two biotech startups are working on gene therapy treatments that would require, in a best-case scenario, a single injection that would reprogram the body’s cells to produce the hormone instead of relying on weekly injections like current drugs. The idea is to coax existing cells into producing the hormone, reaping the benefits of GLP-1 drugs without ongoing treatment.
Both companies have already shown that the approach works in mice and are already testing it on larger animals, including pigs and monkeys.
However, whether the human body can also benefit from the approach remains to be seen. It could take years of more research to determine whether it works, let alone if it’s safe.
But the upsides could be significant. According to recent Gallup data, the use of GLP-1 injectables has doubled in the United States in the last year alone. Promisingly, obesity rates have also started to decline since 2022, with experts suspicious that GLP-1 drugs have contributed to the trend.
The effects aren’t just cosmetic, either. Besides leading to weight loss, the injectables have also been shown to ward off chronic diseases, help control blood sugar, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease, and improve kidney health.
The news comes after the Trump administration announced huge government-mediated discounts on GLP-1s.
This week, biotech company Fractyl presented its latest results of a new gene therapy, dubbed Rejuva, finding that obese mice treated with the therapy lost roughly 20 percent of their body weight within just three weeks. Normal-weight mice also didn’t gain any weight and maintained healthy blood sugar levels after being treated and given a high-fat diet.
“It outperformed semaglutide,” Fractyl Health cofounder and CEO Harith Rajagopalan told CNN.
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