The creators of Ozempic received the Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific Research

This year Princess of Asturias Award The Research Prize was awarded to five endocrinology experts for being the “parents” of Ozempic. Princess of Asturias Awards These are awards designed to recognize scientific, technical, cultural, social and human activities performed by individuals or institutions. Each award consists of a diploma, an award sculpture, a badge and a financial award.

The winners and Ozempic parents were Daniel Drucker, MD (Canada); Jeffrey M. Friedman, molecular biologist (USA); Joel F. Habener, endocrinologist (USA); Jens Juul Holst, chemist (Denmark); and Svetlana Moisova, chemist (Macedonia and USA, parents of Ozempic, an antidiabetic drug known for its success in weight loss.

Princess of Asturias Awards for Ozempic Creators

The winners who discovered GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists), on which the popular Ozempic is based, and other drugs (Wegovy, Rybelsus), that manage diabetes and achieve miraculous weight loss, are awarded the Princess of Asturias Prize. for scientific and technical research 2024.

In recent years, great progress has been made in the treatment of type 2 diabetes with the advent of drugs that use the active ingredient semaglutide, a peptide similar to the hormone glucagon-1 or GLP-1, which plays a balancing role for insulin in blood sugar balance. When sugar levels drop, glucagon causes the liver to release glucose, and when it rises, more insulin is produced, which is responsible for reducing the excess.

In addition, semaglutide causes a noticeable decrease in appetite, which has made Ozempic, one of the drugs produced with this active ingredient, successful. Science magazine named these anti-obesity drugs the greatest scientific achievement of 2023.

The jury that awarded him the award emphasized that his work has contributed to the development of drugs that “improve the quality of life of hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

Winners

Drucker, Habener, Hols and Moisoi They began developing this research in the seventies. They studied hormones that interfere with and regulate digestive metabolism, such as somatostatin, which inhibits glucagon and insulin production, as well as glucagon variants called GLP-1 and GLP-2, and confirmed that this homeostasis system could be an effective therapeutic target against type 2 diabetes.

Semaglutide acts as an agonist of the glucagon receptor GLP-1, and therefore suppresses the production of this hormone, lowering blood sugar levels and improving the growth of beta-pancreatic cells responsible for the production and release of insulin.

In addition, it has been shown to have a protective effect against vascular accidents in obese adults, an indication recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On the other side, Friedman In 1994, he discovered another hormone, leptin, which is produced in fat cells or adipocytes and acts on the area of ​​the brain that controls appetite. This is a balanced system: the more fat, the more leptin is produced, which reduces appetite by reducing the amount of fat in the body and therefore the production of leptin. In obese people this mechanism is imbalanced. He also studied genetic predisposition to obesity.

The Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony will, as usual, take place in October, presided over by the King and Queen, accompanied by the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Doña Sofia.