Harnessing the Incretin System with Multi-Agonists

Abstract

The scientific community has made great strides in responding to the huge public health problems of obesity and diabetes with the discovery of the incretin system and the development of glucagon-like peptide 1 analogues. These have shown clinical efficacy in randomised controlled trials and observational data from real-world evidence; however, a ‘treatment gap’ remains between the therapeutic success of these molecules and the outcomes achieved with bariatric surgery. To help address this, dual incretins are being developed. These combine glucagon-like peptide 1 action with that of either glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide or glucagon. This narrative review charts the development of incretin therapy, and the dual agonists for treatment of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.