Imagine if there was a little-known drug that allowed you to eat whatever you wanted and have a body like a Greek God or Goddess? Oh, and you hardly have to work out.

It turns out there is such a drug — or at least close to it. And folks have been secretly injecting this drug to manage their weight.

As you can imagine, this is a big market… roughly 70% of American adults have obesity or are overweight. And everybody is looking for that magic pill that will make those extra pounds melt off.

And to say it’s been a hit might be an understatement. Between social media, like TikTok, and celebrities sharing their testimonies about how semaglutide helped them shed unwanted pounds, the drug took off…

The unfortunate part? The folks doing this don’t exactly need this drug. They’re already in decent shape. But it hasn’t stopped them from buying this drug in droves, creating a shortage for the folks who desperately need it — like folks with type 2 diabetes who are obese.

Here’s what’s going on — and how you can profit…

The “Magic Weight Loss” Drug Becomes A Reality

You see, the name of this “magic weight loss” drug is Ozempic — also known by its generic name, semaglutide.

The FDA approved this drug to help manage weight in adults with obesity or who are overweight with at least one weight-related condition (such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol).

And during Ozempic’s pre-approval studies, researchers noticed a remarkable side effect: people lost weight. For example, one study showed that the average losses for those receiving one milligram a week of semaglutide were:

• Nearly 10 pounds lost over 30 weeks.
• Nearly 5% overall body weight lost.
• Waist size shrank 1.6 inches.

This side effect helped people with type 2 diabetes because excess weight is a major risk factor. Among other health benefits, weight loss can lower blood sugar and blood pressure and reduce the need for other diabetes medications.

Thus, the “holy grail” of weight loss drugs had finally been found…

In June 2021, the FDA approved a higher dosage of semaglutide called Wegovy to help manage weight in adults with obesity or who are overweight with at least one weight-related condition (such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol).

This under-the-skin injection is the first approved drug for chronic weight management since 2014. But the sudden popularity of semaglutide is only part of the story… Its origins deserve a little time in the limelight. After all, it involves the venomous poison of a Gila monster…

A Groundbreaking Discovery

You see, semaglutide is a type of drug called a GLP-1 agonist, which stands for glucagon-like peptide.

The name isn’t super important. Just know that GLP-1 agonists are a group of drugs that helps folks with Type 2 diabetes improve blood sugar control and help with weight loss.

In the late 1980s, Dr. John Eng came across some very interesting studies at the National Institutes of Health, which noted that the venom in certain snakes and lizards caused inflammation of the pancreas, where insulin is made.

Of particular interest was the hormone in the venom of the Gila monster.

Gila monsters are large venomous lizards native to the Southwestern United States and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. They can grow to more than 20 inches long. They aren’t aggressive, but if cornered, they strike quickly.

A Gila bite causes excruciating pain. Victims experience swelling, vomiting, high blood pressure, and even breathing difficulties. Gila monster venom can also inflame the pancreas.

As it turns out, the toxic venom would lead to a medical breakthrough that would change the lives of tens of millions of people.

In 1992, Eng discovered a compound in the venom that had never been documented. The new compound, which Eng named exendin-4, was similar to a type of hormone that occurs naturally in our bodies called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

You see, GLP-1 isn’t insulin. But it does help regulate blood sugar. However, GLP-1 degrades in the body quickly. A diabetes patient would need to inject natural GLP-1 every couple of hours for it to be effective.

This is where exendin-4 comes in… This compound acts like GLP-1 but doesn’t degrade nearly as quickly. This longer-lasting version of GLP-1 would be the basis for this revolutionary new class of diabetes (and weight loss) drugs.

Dr. Eng (and his wife) had a long road to prove this concept, but they eventually found a suitor in Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Drug giant Eli Lilly (LLY) was also interested. He licensed the patent and made millions. Exenatide, a synthetic version of exendin-4, would be sold under the brand name Byetta. The FDA finally approved it in 2005 for treating Type 2 diabetes.

Long story short, Eng’s work spawned an entire class of GLP-1 drugs, which has already ballooned into a market valued at over $16 billion. And it’s growing like crazy…

Closing Thoughts

I don’t have to tell you how big an opportunity this is.

Sure, you can look up the manufacturers of the current drugs that are out there and invest. You’ll probably do pretty well…

But my point in bringing all this up is this… You ain’t seen nothing yet.

That’s why I recently recommended my top pick for this trend to subscribers over at Capital Wealth Letter. It’s a global leader with a pipeline chock full of GLP-1 drugs, including a GLP-1 drug in pill form.

With the shocking rise in obesity and diabetes rates worldwide, innovation and opportunities to profit are just beginning.

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