GLP-1 receptor agonists, once focused on treating diabetes and obesity, are now emerging as potential treatments for a broader range of chronic conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease. As evidence builds around their wider therapeutic benefits, particularly in targeting insulin resistance, drug developers are accelerating efforts to expand their use and potentially transform how multiple high-burden diseases are managed, according to GlobalData.
Thanks to their mechanism of action and targeting weight loss, drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro could treat diseases with the highest prevalences.
GlobalData’s latest report, “GLP-1R Agonists Label Expansions/Repurposing: Market Overview,” showcases an analysis of the GLP-1R agonists pipeline in multiple indications, highlighting the areas of major opportunity.
From metabolic disorders to neurodegenerative conditions, the chronic aspect of these conditions makes them the most prevalent in our society, and it seems that some mechanisms of action are common to most of them.
Costanza Alciati, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “The GLP-1R agonists space is bound to expand. Their therapeutic potential just keeps evolving as studies widen the knowledge we have on this drug class. For instance, they combat insulin resistance, a mechanism which appears to be at the core of different conditions, from type 2 diabetes and obesity to neuroinflammation contributing to Alzheimer’s disease.”
At present, the mechanisms by which GLP-1R agonists exert their effects are not fully understood, and for this reason the totality of their actions on the body is not either.
Alciati continues: “Ensuring long-term safety of GLP-1R agonists treatment is one of the biggest unmet needs in the space, even though the medicines seem to be safe, and their positive points appear to outweigh the negatives.”
The key opinion leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData referred to the possibility of GLP-1R agonists becoming the “champions of the champions” if pivotal trials prove they are effective for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. KOLs also mentioned that “there might be a chance that treatment guidelines, as we know them, could change completely.”
Alciati concludes: “Companies are now racing to develop the next best candidate targeting the GLP-1 receptor, not only to gain market share in the metabolic diseases space, but potentially to be able to reposition a drug in many indications and this is a great market opportunity for any drug developer.”