Semaglutide

How it works

GLP-1, a gut hormone, on a weekly contract: it slows your stomach and tells your brain 'we're full' before the second plate.

What it's made of

31 amino acids: human GLP-1, a gut hormone, with 2 changes. One stops the enzyme DPP-4 from cutting it; the other makes room for a fat that sticks it to albumin. It lasts a week, not 2 minutes.

What it's for

Prescribed for

Type 2 diabetes; obesity from age 12, or overweight with another disease; fewer heart attacks and strokes; diabetic kidney disease. In the US, also inflamed fatty liver (MASH) with fibrosis, under accelerated approval.