Drug manufacturers develop a dizzying number of experimental drugs in the race for the design of the next successful drug for obesity and diabetes.
In the coming years, experts predict the approval of a variety of new GLP -1 drugs which will benefit from real improvements compared to the semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and shooting (Mounjaro, Zepbound) – including greater weight loss, easier administration and additional health benefits.
“The future? It’s crazy, ”explains Tina Vilsbøll, MD, professor and chief of the Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. “There are more than 200 different compounds in development … and I would say that probably more than 100 compounds are now [being tested] in humans. “”
Research is evolving rapidly and, during the recent annual scientific conference of the American Diabetes Association, the investigators have published a wave of new reports on the next generation of GLP-1 drugs.
“It is incredible for a clinician to get them in the toolbox,” said Dr. Vilsbøll. But, she adds, “there is so much more to learn before being able to prescribe them.”
New weight loss drugs can be GLP-1 pills
GLP-1 drugs could soon come in the form of a pill rather than injections.
“There are also a lot of things that we do not know with these small molecules,” explains Vilsbøll. “They could have negative effects on the target health, and it will take years before we know if they have the same type of positive effects on the long -term heart and kidney health as semaglutide and shooting.”
But there can also be unforeseen advantages beyond easier use. For example, GLP-1 pills with small molecule seem to lower blood pressure even more than semaglutide and shooting, explains Vilsbøll. “Do we have a new antihypertensive agent here?” I don’t know … we will have to see in the coming tests. ”
Orforglipron could be the next GLP-1 pill to gain approval
The weight loss and diabetes medication in small molecule which is closest to approval by admiration of American foods and drugs is called orforglipron.
Lilly, the orforglipron developer, will publish data on weight loss in people without diabetes later this year.
Although health benefits do not exceed those of drugs currently available, experts provide that many patients prefer to take a daily pill than a weekly injection.
Orforglipron “has no restrictions in terms of food consumption or the time you take,” explains Julio Rosenstock, MD, principal author of the new study, director of clinical research Velocity and professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
The rate of undesirable events, in particular the gastrointestinal side effects, “is not very different from what you see” with other GLP-1 drugs, he says. “I would risk saying that you may be able to see a little less than with others,” says Dr. Rosenstock.
Orforglipron could be available for diabetes and weight loss next year. “Lilly hopes to obtain this compound on the market by 2026,” explains Vilsbøll.
Dr. Rosenstock predicts that OrForglipron and other pills similar to small molecule will possibly form the backbone of traditional diabetes treatment, a role played today by more ancient medication metforminous for glucose: “I can see these molecules as first line therapy”, he said, prescribed to patients “of the first day.”
New treatment targets
Drug developers are also underway to design drugs that cause even greater weight loss and offer more complete overall overall advantages, mainly by testing new agents that affect more than the hormonal GLP-1 receiver.
Improved GLP-1 of the current generation
Look forward to
With the processing landscape in such an upheaval, experts hesitate to predict what the future of obesity and diabetes will look like.
As the number of GLP-1 drugs is increasing, clinicians can increasingly choose from a menu of options, some of which may be particularly appropriate for individual patients. “Having a range of therapies targeting different paths offers us the possibility of moving obesity and type 2 diabetes care in more personalized drugs,” explains Dr. Papamargaritis.
There is also the hope that the new generation of GLP-1 drugs will reduce prices and improve accessibility. The weight loss processing market is currently dominated by two drug manufacturers, but as more and more pharmaceutical companies are entering the field, increased competition could result in a lower cost for consumers.
The new GLP-1 pills with small molecule should cost less to do and distribute than today’s injectables, which require more complex refrigeration and manufacturing process.
But Vilesbøll warns that the economy of weight loss therapies will not change at night. Although experts hope that the reduction in the manufacturing costs of pills will increase the global availability of diabetes and obesity drugs that change the situation, pharmaceutical giants who spend billions of people to develop and test them can still choose prices out of most customers.
