Harvard: What’s next for GLP-1s?

Scientists eye new treatment targets for popular weight-loss drugs, from heart failure to addiction

Now that GLP-1 drugs have revolutionized how millions of Americans treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes, scientists are exploring the benefits of using the drugs for a host of other chronic diseases — many with few treatment options — such as heart failure, chronic liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and even substance use disorders.

“Their role is now being understood to be much, much more fundamental to human health, and to promoting longevity and preventing chronic illness progression,” said Muthiah Vaduganathan, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and faculty at Harvard Medical School.

GLP-1 receptor agonists — sold under brand names like Ozempic and Mounjaro — were initially developed to treat diabetes. But instead of addressing biomarkers linked to certain disease outcomes, these drugs influence the central cardio-kidney metabolic process, Vaduganathan said. This overarching approach has made GLP-1 drugs the most effective and tolerable choice for most patients treating diabetes and obesity. It’s also what makes it likely that they influence a number of closely related diseases.

“Excess weight and adiposity and obesity are the fundamental drivers of why these conditions are not only occurring but also progressing over time,” said Vaduganathan. “And so that reframing has allowed us now to rapidly target those fundamental drivers of adiposity with really effective and safe therapies like GLP-1 receptor agonists.”

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