KEYWORDS: Diabesity; glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1), half-life extension, medical devices, short open reading frame-encoded polypeptide (SEP).

THE TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECT OF DIABESITY R&D
Research on Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) in conjunction with its main risk factor, obesity (“diabesity”), is having a transformative effect on the whole field of peptide therapeutics, and I have selected Semaglutide as a champion of this research.
Diabesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, and better management of the disease is still an unmet medical need. The competition among pharma companies for the huge associated pharmaceutical market ($41B in 2014) has favored a virtuous cycle of large R&D investment, major technical innovation, and large return on investment, partially reinvested in R&D. This research effort has translated into major progress across many areas relevant for peptide therapeutics: the molecules themselves, the technology for half-life extension, slow release/depot formulations, patient-friendly medical devices, and even a promising track to oral ...
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