Why do Ozempic and Wegovy seem to treat everything?

It is rare that a drug becomes a household name and even rarer for one to become a superstar, but with its ability to grab headlines, Ozempic is the Taylor Swift of pharmaceuticals. So just what lies behind its star power? Even as the drug and its derivatives take off, researchers are racing to find out how it works.

“We’re seeing so many incredible benefits,” says Steven Dayan at the University of Illinois. “It’s early days, but it’s looking like these drugs aren’t just going to change medicine but our whole economy.”

Most medicines only treat one or two conditions, meaning that “cure-alls” promising to tackle any and all ailments are usually viewed with scepticism and suspicion. Ozempic seems to buck that trend. Last year, Wegovy – a version of Ozempic approved for weight loss – was shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by almost 20 per cent. The emergence of “Ozempic pregnancies” hinted at fertility benefits. People started noticing positive effects on depression and anxiety. In May, results showed it also slashed the risk of kidney failure and death in people with diabetes during a three-year trial. In July, another version of the drug was found to reduce brain shrinkage and slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Why this drug is helping so many conditions is still mysterious, but researchers are beginning to unravel the mechanisms underlying its extraordinary abilities. From its effects on reward circuits in the brain to its impact on inflammation, understanding…