The Gila Monster is North America’s only venomous Lizard. The reptile can grow to twenty-two inches and has a vicious bite that’s as toxic as that of the western diamondback rattlesnake. While studying the lizard’s venom in the 1990s, Dr. John Eng—an endocrinologist at the Veterans Administration Center in New York—discovered a compound with a similar molecular structure to a protein called GLP-1, which regulates blood glucose in humans. But while GLP-1 had a half-life of just a few minutes, the lizard protein, which Eng called Exendin-4, had a half-life of several hours. Seeing its potential to treat metabolic disease, Eng began experimenting with Exendin-4 and later licensed his discovery to Amylin Pharmaceuticals of San Diego. After a decade of research, Exenatide was approved by the FDA as the world’s first “GLP-1 receptor agonist.” It forever changed the management of Type 2 diabetes and may prove to be our most powerful weapon in the ongoing war on obesity.

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Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/my-healthy-but-waning-skepticism-of-weight-loss-drugs/

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