Why Haven’t GLP-1 Pills Taken Off Like Ozempic?
Popular weight-loss and type 2 diabetes drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic are typically taken as self-administered injections—a bearable albeit unpleasant jab to the abdomen or thigh. But drug manufacturers and researchers recognize the perks of pills.
An oral version of these drugs—which are known as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists—could be more accessible and would come without the inconvenience, pain or medical waste of shots. But an assortment of scientific and logistical obstacles is preventing GLP-1 pills from taking off in the same way that the injectable forms of these drugs have. Pfizer recently announced it decided to discontinue clinical trials of its oral GLP-1 medication for weight loss, called danuglipron, after a study participant experienced a liver injury that was potentially linked to the experimental drug. A pill version of semaglutide—the generic name for Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic and its weight-loss version Wegovy—was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a type 2 diabetes treatment in 2019, but it has largely flown under the radar.
Excerpted from Scientific American
