Beyond Diabetes: The Expanding Benefits of GLP-1 Medications for Weight Loss and More

By:  Katherine Fico, PharmD, BCACP
       Manager, Clinical Initiatives and Pharmacy Collaboration

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, better known as GLP-1 medications, were originally designed to lower blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Over the last few years, GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide, have been gaining extraordinary recognition for their ability to help patients lose weight. It is important to note that ongoing treatment is required to maintain weight loss. After discontinuing semaglutide for one year, patients gained back two-thirds of the weight they had lost while taking the medication.¹

GLP-1 is a naturally occurring hormone that has four key effects regarding diabetes and weight control:

1. Signals to the brain that the stomach feels full
2. Slows down food leaving the stomach
3. Stops the liver from making sugar
4. Stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin when blood sugars are high

In addition to improving diabetes, cardiovascular risk, and weight loss, there are additional uses that are being studied. Semaglutide (Ozempic®) was recently FDA-approved to reduce the risk of kidney disease progression and cardiovascular death in adults with T2D and chronic kidney disease. These indications are increasingly significant as there is a well-known relationship between obesity, T2D, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease.^2,3

Since obesity is a chronic disease that increases the risk of many health conditions such as joint pain, sleep apnea, cancer, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, infertility, and gout, it is no surprise that GLP-1 medications may also have a positive effect on these conditions as well. Furthermore, GLP-1 receptors are found all over the body therefore they are thought to have the potential to treat substance use, seizures, suicidal ideation, schizophrenia, infections, respiratory conditions, clotting disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.^{4, 5}

New weight loss medications are planned to hit the market in 2026 including CagriSema and orforlipron. CagriSema contains cagrilintide, a medication that makes patients feel full, and semaglutide. The combination of the two medications together is more effective than either medication alone.^6,7 In contrast to current GLP-1 medications on the market, orforglipron is a smaller molecule and has the ability to be taken as an oral tablet instead of an injection.⁸  Having an oral medication option may appeal to patients with obesity who are leery of self-injection and therefore may help with medication adherence.

Over the next five years, there are more than 14 weight-loss drugs expected to enter the market.⁸ At least 5 of the 14 medications are oral medications, which are cheaper to make, store, and purchase. Several medications that are currently available will become generics, making them more affordable and accessible to patients. As researchers learn more about genetics and individual responses to medications, patients should expect to see personalized medications with additional efficacy and fewer side effects. As effective as these medications may be, all treatments can only provide the maximum benefit when they are combined with diet and exercise.

References:

1. Wilding, JPH, Batterham, RL, Davies, M, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide: The STEP 1 trial extension. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2022; 24(8): 1553-1564. doi:10.1111/dom.14725
2. Prasad R, Jha RK, Keerti A. Chronic Kidney Disease: Its Relationship With Obesity. Cureus. 2022 Oct 21;14(10):e30535. doi: 10.7759/cureus.30535. PMID: 36415443; PMCID: PMC9675899.
3. Cercato, C., Fonseca, F.A. Cardiovascular risk and obesity. Diabetol Metab Syndr 11, 74 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-019-0468-0
4. Xie Y, Choi T, Al-Aly Z. Mapping the effectiveness and risks of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Nat Med. 2025 Jan 20. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03412-w. Epub ahead of print. Erratum in: Nat Med. 2025 Jan 31. doi: 10.1038/s41591-025-03542-9. PMID: 39833406.
5. American Medical Association (AMA). (2025). Ozempic study on weight loss drugs side effects, FDA red dye 3 ban, flu cases and norovirus vaccine. Retrieved January 23, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4CsdISq-_E.
6. Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management in people with overweight and obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lau, David C W et al. The Lancet, Volume 398, Issue 10317, 2160 – 2172
7. CagriSema demonstrates superior weight loss in adults with obesity or overweight in the REDEFINE 1 trial. (2024, December 20). Press Releases. Retrieved January 28, 2025, from https://www.novonordisk.com/news-and-media/news-and-ir-materials/news-details.html?id=915082.
8. Areesha Moiz,Kristian B. Filion,Helia Toutounchi,Michael A. Tsoukas,Oriana H.Y. Yu,Tricia M. Peters,Mark J. Eisenberg,Efficacy and Safety of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists for Weight Loss Among Adults Without Diabetes, Annals of Internal Medicine, (2025). https://doi.org/10.7326/ANNALS-24-01590
9. Pharma frenzy. (2024). The Economist, 54–55.