Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), once focused on treating diabetes and obesity, are now emerging as potential treatments for a broader range of chronic conditions, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis and Alzheimer’s disease. In a recently published report, leading data and analytics company GlobalData estimates that GLP-1R agonists could potentially transform treatment paradigms of multiple chronic diseases, thanks to the drugs’ wider therapeutic benefits.
According to GlobalData’s GLP-1R Agonists Label Expansions/Repurposing: Market Overview report, the potential of this drug class stands on its anti-inflammatory and insulin sensitising properties. GLP-1R agonists are being investigated in several diseases in different therapeutic areas, as insulin resistance and inflammation appear to be at the core of more conditions than what was thought in the past.
One key opinion leader (KOL) interviewed by GlobalData mentioned that some of these chronic diseases might be “the expression of different organs to the same basic problem, which might be inflammation, metabolic syndrome, or something else.” Thus, GLP-1R agonists are revolutionising how we think about diseases and are promoting the idea that “everything is connected”. The hope is that these medications will be able to treat multiple diseases at the same time, exerting some disease-modifying properties in at least some of them.
Cost of treatment and long-term tolerability remain unmet needs in the space, which are expected to be mitigated with time. Companies are already making deals with pharmacies to provide drug discounts to patients, and with more drugs reaching the market, competition is expected to hopefully drive costs down.
More and more companies are investing in developing GLP-1R agonists, including dual and triple agonists and combination therapies, to maximise their benefits and reduce side effects. Excitement around these molecules is high in the scientific and medical community, because of their success in the diabetes and obesity markets, which is likely to translate to other metabolic diseases markets. However, in other therapeutic areas such as neurological disorders, KOLs note that pivotal trials “still need to prove that GLP-1RA’s efficacy is worth their cost”.
