How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic
Global News
In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Ozempic.
In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone in the human gut that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.
It’s called glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and its function is to regulate blood sugar levels and suppresses appetite.
“The first discoveries we made for what GLP-1 did naturally supported the development of treatments for diabetes,” Drucker told Global News. “I did basic science. I really had no idea where this would lead. And now it’s having a huge clinical impact globally, which is just great to see as a physician.”
Drucker, along with others in the scientific community, wanted to turn GLP-1 into a drug to help people manage Type 2 diabetes. However, there was a problem: GLP-1 quickly disappears from the human body, positing difficulties in drug development.
Here enters the Gila monster, the largest lizard in North America.
This venomous reptile, native to the southern U.S., possesses the remarkable ability to endure extended periods without food. It can effectively slow down its metabolism and sustain stable blood sugar levels without compromising its health. Hormones in this reptile’s venom had also previously been shown to regulate blood sugar.
Drucker wanted to know why and honed his research using venom from the Gila Monster.
In the mid-1990s, with the help of a professional reptile handler Bob Murphy, the senior curator of herpetology at the Royal Ontario Museum, Drucker’s team tracked down the Gila monster in Utah.