GLP-1 Drugs: Not a Miracle Cure for Weight Loss

Weight loss drugs have been the talk of the town for the last couple of months. The weight loss drugs on the market are Wegovy, Ozempic from Novo Norodisk (NVO), and Mounjaro from Eli Lilly (LLY). You can read our deep dive on Novo Nordisk here.

These drugs consist of a natural hormone called GLP1. Let’s see how it works.

GLP-1 drugs mimic the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1, a natural hormone produced by the body in the gut. When blood sugar levels start to rise after a meal, the body produces this hormone to achieve multiple functions as seen in the image above. By producing and administering this hormone as a therapeutic, the drug will elicit similar effects seen with the natural hormone.

As such, you can trick the body into thinking you had a meal, and stimulate the body to produce more insulin, allowing for its use in diabetes. The extra insulin helps lower blood sugar levels which are required for controlling type 2 diabetes.