GLP-1: its discoverers rewarded with the Lasker Prize, the antechamber to the Nobel Prize in Medicine

GLP-1 continues to make headlines. This "miracle" molecule, which is One of Science and Future number 931, still available at newsagents, has been honored by the prestigious Lasker Prizes, from the eponymous foundation (created by medical research pioneers Mary and Albert Lasker). They were revealed yesterday, September 19, 2024.

The award ceremony in New York

In the category of "Clinical Medical Research," Joel Habener (Massachusetts General Hospital), Lotte Bjerre Knudsen (Novo Nordisk) and Svetlana Mojsov (Rockefeller University) win a $250,000 prize and will receive their awards at a ceremony in New York on September 27. The trio is being honored for the discovery and development of GLP-1-based drugs. "which have had a significant impact on the fight against obesity", the foundation comments in a press release.

The hormone GLP-1, used in the treatment of diabetes, is also very effective for weight loss. In France, the craze for Ozempic, an injectable drug from the class of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues, is at the origin of a shortage that has led the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products to decide to "not to implement new Ozempic treatments until further notice." ANSM also created a temporary scientific committee to conduct a reflection "on patient safety and prescription conditions", can we read in the monthly Science and Future.

Read alsoGLP-1: an incredible success story

The Lasker, the Nobel antechamber

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Other Lasker recipients include: Zhijian “James” Chen (UT Southwestern Medical Center) receives the Basic Medical Research Award for the discovery of the cGAS enzyme, which plays a key role in the immune response; Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Salim S. Abdool Karim (CAPRISA/Columbia University) are recipients for their contributions to combating the spread of HIV and “for transformative public health advocacy and programming across Africa and globally”, wrote the jury.

Focused on medical issues, the Lasker Prize is often considered the antechamber to the Nobel Prize… in the category of “physiology or medicine”. Does the honor granted to the discoverers of GLP-1 herald a forthcoming spotlight by the Stockholm jury? The answer is coming soon… The Nobel Prize in Medicine is on October 7.