How weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy were developed and the scientists behind them

Developed to treat diabetes, drugs like Ozempic now help fight obesity. Scientists newly honoured for working on them recall their findings

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A man injects Ozempic. Two scientists newly honoured with the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research recall their findings that paved the way for the development of what are seen as weight-loss wonder drugs. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:15am, 24 Sep 2024Updated: 10:02am, 22 Oct 2024

Half a century of advances in biomedical science paved the way for today’s powerful weight-loss drugs like Ozempic – so what was that journey like for the scientists involved?

Joel Habener of Massachusetts General Hospital and Svetlana Mojsov of The Rockefeller University, in the United States, were honoured this month with the prestigious Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research for their roles in the research.

They talked about how they made the discoveries that changed the way we think about weight.

The pair shared the award – often considered a predictor of future Nobel Prize success – as well as an honorarium of US$250,000 (HK$1.9 million) with Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, the chief scientific adviser at Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic.

Joel Habener of Massachusetts General Hospital, who earlier this month was honoured with the Lasker Award. Photo: AFP

Obesity has escalated into a global health crisis, affecting 900 million people worldwide, including over 40 per cent of Americans and nearly a quarter of Europeans. A report by China’s National Health Commission found that, in 2020, one in six Chinese adults was obese.