Novo Nordisk has had a difficult year: a tumbling stock price resulting in the biggest leadership shakeup in the company’s 100-year history as investors turned their back on the Danish drugmaker and its weight loss business.
It seemed investors had largely given up on Novo’s ability to translate its strides in pioneering GLP-1 drugs to financial gains as the lucrative market attracts new players. Scientists, however, say that the medicine still has potential.
What started with a focus on the drug’s ability to manage weight and blood sugar, and combat related conditions such as heart disease, is now expanding further with growing interest in how it might also impact the brain.
Semaglutide, or as it is better known, Ozempic and Wegovy, is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that was originally developed for diabetes patients to manage their blood sugar levels. However, it quickly became prescribed by doctors off-label en masse as its appetite surpressing and weight-loss properties became known. Today, it is approved for anti-obesity purposes and brings in billions annually for its maker, Novo Nordisk.
Now, the medical community is discovering a growing list of added benefits from these drugs.
