GLP-1: Wonder drug and social disruptor?

more than one in ten US adults HAve tried GLP-1 drugs.

Those numbers will only increase. Initially prescribed for type 2 diabetes and weight loss, trials are now investigating their use in diseases of the heart, brain, kidney, and more.

It’s quickly becoming apparent that they’re changing more than just our dietary preferences.

They work at a much more fundamental level.

These drugs change what we want and how we behave.

People taking GLP-1 drugs report less interest in drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and even making impulse purchases. That’s why they have potential as anti-addiction drugs.

When so many people are on a medication that changes their behaviour, wider societal change is inevitable. We don’t yet know the scale or direction of this change, but it is coming.

When so many people are using a drug that changes their behaviour, almost every industry will be impacted.

Think about what happens when the desire to consume is altered at a population level. What happens when many people’s needs and desires suddenly change? How might different industries and sectors address these changes?

We’ve been watching this wave building for years. We’ve been working with clients in Consumer Health, Food, MedTech and pharma to explore what these changes mean for them. We asked some of our leading experts, in fields from medicine to behavioural science, from chemistry to manufacturing engineering, to write down their thoughts on what GLP-1 drugs mean for business.