Ozempic’s new frontier: The war on aging

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. For decades, scientists have been on the hunt for an antiaging drug. Now, some say we may have already found it.

A fast-growing body of research signals potential health benefits of GLP-1s, the class of diabetes and weight-loss drugs known by names like Ozempic, beyond what they were initially approved to treat. That includes age-related conditions like Alzheimer’s, osteoarthritis, certain cancers and even mortality. Doctors and researchers emphasize the need for larger, more rigorous long-term studies to confirm these preventive effects are causal, not just correlational.

Still, since Ozempic was approved in 2017, thousands of studies have been published examining the effects of GLP-1s. Last year, Wegovy won a new Food and Drug Administration approval to reduce the risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events, and Ozempic, was recently approved to help kidney-disease patients. This accumulating body of research has led longevity clinics to market and prescribe GLP-1s as so-called gerotherapeutics—drugs that can target certain biological hallmarks of aging.

Dr. Nir Barzilai, a physician-scientist who is president of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research, reviewed a dozen FDA-approved drugs and drug classes with potential benefits to extend lifespan and so-called healthspan, or how long people live in good health. GLP-1s ranked in the top third.

Excess weight can trigger chronic low-grade inflammation, which has been linked to increased risk for a host of conditions from heart disease to dementia. “Obesity drives aging," says Barzilai. The drugs work in part by suppressing appetite and making users feel fuller faster.