Health & biology · 2017

Semaglutide

A once-weekly GLP-1 drug for diabetes that also produced around 15 percent weight loss.

Novo Nordisk's Ozempic was approved in 2017 and, as Wegovy, for obesity in 2021. GLP-1 drugs became among the best-selling medicines in history and showed cardiovascular benefit in large trials.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

GLP-1 insulin action 1987
Recombinant insulin 1978

What it led to 2

Tirzepatide 2022
GLP-1 pill for obesity 2025

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Life expectancy at birth Latest: 73.2 years (2023) Source: Our World in Data