Three GLP-1 drugs are being tested for jobs semaglutide doesn't do yet

Three new clinical trials are testing GLP-1 and GLP-1-like drugs for uses beyond the weight loss and diabetes treatment that semaglutide already covers. One trial asks whether a drug can stop diabetes and obesity before they start. Another targets liver scarring linked to metabolic disease. A third is just beginning human testing. For anyone watching where this class of medication is headed next, these trials mark early but meaningful movement.

Eli Lilly has opened a Phase 3 trial for orforglipron that takes a different approach than most GLP-1 research to date. Rather than treating diabetes or obesity after they develop, the trial is recruiting 2,000 people who already carry excess weight but have not yet progressed to type 2 diabetes or class 1 obesity. The goal is to see whether the drug can prevent that progression rather than manage it once it has occurred. This shifts the conversation from treatment to prevention, which is a meaningfully different question for regulators and for patients to weigh.

Pemvidutide is now in Phase 3 testing for a condition tied to metabolic dysfunction rather than to weight or blood sugar directly. The trial is recruiting patients with liver scarring, a consequence of the disease sometimes called MASH, to see whether this GLP-1-like drug can slow or reverse that damage. Because liver scarring carries its own serious health risks separate from diabetes or obesity, a positive result here would extend the reach of GLP-1-like drugs into an area they have not yet been approved to treat. The trial is actively recruiting now, so results are still some way off.

SYH2069 is the earliest stage candidate of the three, and it is entering Phase 2 testing for type 2 diabetes. The trial has not yet begun recruiting, which places it well behind orforglipron and pemvidutide in the development process. If it succeeds through Phase 2, it would still need to complete Phase 3 testing and regulatory review before reaching patients. That timeline typically runs several years, so this is a candidate worth noting rather than one that will affect treatment options soon.

None of these trials will change what is available to patients this year, but together they show two clear directions for this class of drugs. One is prevention, aiming to stop diabetes and obesity before they take hold rather than treating them afterward. The other is expansion into conditions like liver scarring that sit outside the diabetes and obesity treatment most people associate with GLP-1 drugs. If you want to track how these trials progress, checking back on this tracker as new results are filed is a reasonable way to stay informed without acting on incomplete information.

By Amanda Bonello