Dr Jens Holst, pictured above, is one of five researchers who were awarded the Breakthrough Prize for their achievements in developing drugs like Ozempic. (Photo credit: Lars Svankjær of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters)
Five scientists involved in the development of drugs like Ozempic have received a $3 million prize, dubbed the “Oscars of Science.”
The Breakthrough Prizes are annual awards designed to honor “the world’s outstanding scientists working in the fundamental sciences,” according to the official website. There are six prizes in total, covering achievements in fundamental physics, mathematics, and the life sciences.
This year, Dr. Jens Holst, Dr. Daniel Drucker, Dr. Joel Habener, Lotte Knudsen and Svetiana Mojsov have been announced as joint winners of one of three Breakthrough Prizes in the Life Sciences for 2025.
“When something [like this award] comes completely unexpectedly, it's nice, it's surprising,” Holst, a professor of medical physiology at the University of Copenhagen, told Live Science.
The official statement said that this year, Holst and his colleagues received one of the Life Sciences Awards “for the discovery and characterization of glucagon-like peptide 1 and the uncovering of its physiology and potential for treating diabetes and obesity.”
Glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1, is a hormone released by the gut after eating. This hormone stimulates insulin production, which lowers blood sugar levels and slows down the digestion process, making people feel full. It plays an important role in how the brain controls appetite.
Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are examples of “GLP-1 receptor agonists” — they mimic the action of the hormone GLP-1 in the body to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, respectively.
These drugs have gained huge popularity over the past decade and are now being studied as potential treatments for a host of other conditions, from substance use disorders to Alzheimer’s disease. In 2024, Wegovy also received regulatory approval in the United States to treat cardiovascular disease, though questions remain about how exactly it works for the condition.
However, despite their success, GLP-1 receptor agonists have come under considerable scrutiny. For example, some patients have been reported to experience unpleasant side effects such as persistent vomiting and gastric paralysis.
Additionally, a large study published in 2025 found that these drugs may reduce the risk of 42 diseases, but may also increase the likelihood of 19 others, including abdominal pain, low blood pressure, and arthritis. This study was correlational, so it is not known whether GLP-1 agonists actually cause these diseases, but it does raise questions about the long-term effects of these drugs.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
