When Will We Get Something Better?

The quest for a pharmacological solution to obesity continues—the magic pill to make us thin. While Ozempic and Wegovy, discovered and developed to treat type 2 diabetes, have been successful in helping reduce HbA1c, it has also helped people lose weight; the problem is the side effects. As you might guess, there are receptors for GLP-1 agonists in numerous locations in addition to the brain, and other organs are impacted.

That’s why a press release from Stanford seemed promising: “Naturally occurring molecule rivals Ozempic in weight loss, sidesteps side effects.” This research used a unique approach: they designed a specific algorithm that used artificial intelligence to identify the hormone segments made by an enzyme prohormone convertase 1/3 (PC1/3); basically, it cuts prohormones into smaller segments. Some may have metabolic activity, most would not.

Based on the analysis of 2,600 protein segments, the researchers identified 373 potentials and tested the top 100 most likely to succeed. They identified a hormone segment with 12 amino acids that appears to impact hunger 10 times better than the GLP-1 agonists, which are cleaved from the same prohormone. When they tested it in mice and minipigs by injecting it into the muscles of the animals before eating, it reduced food intake by 50%.

The volume of work done by the specific algorithm using AI probably saved years compared to testing each prohormone by trial and error, but what’s next? When will it be available? I’ll cover that on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References:
1. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/ozempic-rival.html
2. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08683-y