Five scientists who helped develop Ozempic-style drugs have been awarded a $3 million prize nicknamed the "Oscars of Science."
The Breakthrough Prizes are annual awards that aim to recognize "the world’s top scientists working in the fundamental sciences," according to the official website for the prizes. Six awards are given, in total, covering accomplishments in fundamental physics, mathematics and the life sciences.
This year, Dr. Jens Holst, Dr. Daniel Drucker, Dr. Joel Habener, Lotte Knudsen and Svetiana Mojsov have been announced as joint winners of one of three Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences for 2025.
"When something [like this award] drops in completely unexpected, that's nice, that's wonderful," Holst, a professor of medical physiology at the University of Copenhagen, told Live Science.
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Holst and his colleagues received one of the life-science awards this year "for the discovery and characterization of glucagon-like peptide 1 and revealing its physiology and potential in treating diabetes and obesity," read an official statement.
Glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, is a hormone that the gut secretes after eating. The hormone stimulates the release of insulin, which lowers blood sugar levels, and it also slows down digestion, making people feel full. It's a key player in how the brain regulates appetite.
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are examples of "GLP-1 receptor agonists" — they mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone in the body to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, respectively.
These drugs have garnered significant popularity over the past decade, and they are now being investigated as potential treatments for many other health conditions, ranging from substance-use disorders to Alzheimer's disease. In 2024, Wegovy also got regulatory approval in the United States to treat heart disease, although questions remain regarding how it actually treats the condition.
However, despite their success, GLP-1 receptor agonists have also faced considerable scrutiny. For instance, there have been reports of some patients experiencing nasty side effects, such as persistent vomiting and stomach paralysis.
Additionally, a large study published in 2025 revealed that these drugs may reduce the risk of developing 42 health conditions but may increase the chances of experiencing 19 others, including abdominal pain, low blood pressure and arthritis. This study was correlational, so it's unknown if GLP-1 agonists are actually driving these conditions, but it still raises questions about the drugs' long-term effects.
Even with these concerns, though, many believe these drugs have revolutionized the treatment of cardiometabolic disorders. In the U.S., 1 in 8 adults have reported using a GLP-1 drug at some point in their lives.
Holst and colleagues originally discovered the GLP-1 hormone back in the 1980s. Piece by piece, they gathered data showing that the hormone stimulated insulin secretion, and that it inhibited food intake and the emptying of the stomach after a meal, Holst said.
Over the years, the researchers further examined these physiological effects within the context of diabetes and obesity, which eventually led to the development of the widely used drugs that are household names today.
There is likely a huge interest around these drugs because they offer an alternative, and very effective, route to weight loss for people with obesity who might not have found success with other interventions, Holst said. However, as a doctor, he is more interested in their ability to treat the knock-on health concerns tied to obesity, such as certain cancers and atherosclerosis, which can lead to coronary artery disease, he added.
"What we know is that obesity is associated with a hell of [a lot of] complications," he said. "The important thing is that with these compounds, you can prevent that."
Holst and colleagues are now investigating how the body regulates its own GLP-1 hormone levels and whether this process can be manipulated. For instance, they want to see whether patients with obesity or diabetes could be given a drug that increases the secretion of their own GLP-1 hormone, rather than being given a drug that just mimics the action of GLP-1, Holst said.
In addition to the prize awarded to GLP-1's developers, the other two life sciences awards this year went to Dr. Stephen Hauser and Dr. Alberto Ascherio, for their work on multiple sclerosis, and David Liu for developing two common gene editing technologies known as "base editing" and "prime editing."
This year's winners will receive their awards at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 5, 2025.
