Peptide research, regulation, discovery. Every story links to the peptide it’s about.
RSSAn ACR Open Rheumatology study in 60,198 patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases tracks GLP-1 RA initiation from 0.1% in 2018 to 6.8% in 2024. At 12 months, tirzepatide users lost 8.2% body weight versus 5.8% for semaglutide users (treatment difference 2.2 percentage points, CI 1.9-2.5). Non-diabetic patients lost 1.8% more weight than those with diabetes.
A new Archives of Pharmacal Research meta-analysis of 14 RCTs and 1,260 non-diabetic patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or mild cognitive impairment finds GLP-1 RAs produce only a trivial improvement in global cognition (SMD 0.14, high-certainty) and a moderate decrement in verbal fluency (SMD -0.43, high-certainty). The first quantitative challenge to the GLP-1-as-neurodegenerative-therapy hypothesis.
Lilly disclosed an ADA 2026 abstract slot for animal data on a unimolecular quintuple agonist engaging GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, amylin, and calcitonin receptors. The compound is distinct from the DiMarchi-Tschöp-Müller GLP-1R/GIPR/PPAR conjugate covered May 1, but the convergence of two independent groups producing five-pharmacophore obesity drugs in the same publication window is a real signal about where multi-agonist development is heading.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC May 6 that the Wegovy franchise (injectable, pill, Ozempic, Rybelsus) writes 65% of new US GLP-1 prescriptions, calling the moment a 'turnaround situation.' The Q1 disclosure also confirmed termination of the single-chamber CagriSema co-formulation; the dual-chamber injectable continues with FDA decision expected late 2026. Jefferies pushed back, arguing the lower end of guidance was not lifted enough.
A Nature paper from the international TransCODE Consortium identifies 1,785 previously unrecognized microproteins from non-canonical open reading frames, expanding the human proteome by approximately 10%. Based on meta-analysis of 95,520 proteomics experiments, the work codifies 'peptideins' as a working category for microproteins with indeterminate functional potential. The paper sets the reference annotation standard for ncORF-encoded microproteins.
A multinational retrospective cohort in Neurology reports that calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibitors (Aimovig, Vyepti, Ajovy, Emgality, atogepant, rimegepant) reduce incident glaucoma risk by 25% over 3 years versus non-CGRPi migraine preventives (HR 0.75, CI 0.61-0.92). The protective effect concentrates in the monoclonal antibody subclass and persists across older adults, women, chronic migraine, and migraine-without-aura subgroups.
Novo Nordisk Q1 2026 reported Wegovy pill sales of DKK 2.26 billion (~$354M), almost double the DKK 1.16 billion consensus, on 1.3 million Q1 prescriptions and 2 million cumulative since the January 5 launch. Total net sales DKK 96.82B (+24% YoY), operating profit DKK 59.62B (+54%), guidance tightened from -5/-13% to -4/-12%. The volume-versus-price question gets a clean answer: volume won.
Novo's high-dose Wegovy (semaglutide 7.2 mg injection), FDA-approved in March and launched April 7, contributed to the Q1 print on STEP UP trial data showing 21% mean weight loss at 72 weeks and 89% of patients achieving at least 5% body-weight reduction. Dysesthesia at 22% (vs 6% on 2.4 mg and 0.3% placebo) is the safety chapter prescribers will need to engage explicitly. Step-up requires four-plus weeks tolerability on standard dose first.
An Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol paper describes NTyP-100, a nanocarrier conjugating a peptide inhibitor of non-muscle myosin light chain kinase with a sphingosine-1-phosphate analogue. In two rodent acute lung injury models (LPS one-hit in mice, LPS plus mechanical ventilation two-hit in rats), the construct cut inflammatory injury by approximately 40% compared with either component alone, with attenuation of TNF, IL-17, and apoptosis pathway dysregulation.
A Canadian Journal of Anesthesia meta-analysis of 10 prospective studies and 300 patients quantifies the GLP-1 receptor agonist gastric-emptying delay at a mean of 74 minutes (95% CI 46-101). Short-acting agents (exenatide, lixisenatide) push the delay to 116 minutes; the first 10 weeks of therapy sit at 82 minutes. The result quantifies the mechanism behind ASA's 2023 perioperative hold guidance.
An FDA Adverse Event Reporting System case logged April 30 documenting hepatic failure in a 56-year-old male on Foundayo surfaced May 4, briefly cutting Lilly shares 3% before recovering. The Lilly Global Patient Safety response cited the 11,000-patient ACHIEVE/ATTAIN program with no DILI signal across two years; RBC framed the single case as 'baseline noise, not a mechanistic signal' against class FAERS counts (Ozempic 33, Mounjaro 30, Wegovy 15, Zepbound 2).
Reuters reported May 5 that Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill booked roughly 721,000 US prescriptions in Q1 per IQVIA, with about 450,000 of those scripts on the 1.5 mg starter dose at $149/month. Novo's Q1 print on May 6 will test whether volume offsets the falling-price headwind that has cut more than $400 billion from the company's market value since 2024.
A new Nature Communications umbrella review pools 123 meta-analyses spanning 464 outcomes from 5,617 articles into a unified evidence map. Benefits cluster across endocrine, cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, and cognitive domains plus selected-population mortality and fracture-risk reductions. Risks concentrate in diabetic retinopathy, ketoacidosis, gastrointestinal events, and treatment discontinuation. Most comprehensive synthesis of the GLP-1 class to date.
HighFold-MeD2, an enhancement of the open-source Boltz-2 structure-prediction model, handles cyclic peptides containing backbone N-methylated and d-amino acids, the modifications that drive cyclic-peptide drug-class metabolic stability and oral bioavailability. The model uses Chemical Component Dictionary representations rather than hard-coded non-canonical amino acid entries, making it extensible without retraining. It outperforms HighFold-MeD, AlphaFold3, and Boltz-2 baseline on cyclic-peptide structure prediction.
A 26-week Lancet RCT in 108 patients with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity reports that once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg reduced heavy drinking days by 41.1 percentage points from baseline versus 26.4 on placebo. Treatment difference: -13.7 percentage points (p = 0.0015). First adequately powered randomized confirmation of the GLP-1 effect on alcohol use that preclinical and observational data have predicted for years.