Miracle drugs, obesity treatments and skinny jabs. Call them what you will, few drugs have had a more transformative effect on Wall Street and waistlines over recent decades than GLP-1s.
Familiarly known under the brand names Wegovy and Zepbound, Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a class of medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity by mimicking hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate blood sugar.
Since Wegovy first received U.S. approval to treat obesity in 2021, and Zepbound in 2023, the drugs have skyrocketed to fame, bringing long-sought solutions to tens of millions of patients and supercharging the growth of respective parent companies Novo Nordisk
and Eli Lilly
Obesity is a significant risk factor in many of the leading causes of death. As new applications — and competitors — for the drugs come to light, Wall Street is betting big on the burgeoning industry, with estimates suggesting it could be worth upwards of $100 billion by 2030.
