Miracle drugs for weight loss
Following the dazzling success of The “miracle” drug Wegovy (semaglutide) and others GLP-1 agonists2025 will likely bring results and approvals for a new wave of treatments targeting obesity. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly of Indianapolis, Indiana, will complete a Phase III trial for its oral pill, or forglipron, evaluating its long-term safety in people with type 2 diabetes. The drug is easier to produce and potentially less expensive than existing treatments.
How Competing Weight Loss Drugs Are Successful in Treating Obesity, Diabetes and More
Trials of retatrutide, Eli Lilly’s triple-action drug, will continue throughout 2025. In its phase II trial, retatrutide showed unprecedented effectiveness, with people receiving the highest dose experiencing loss weight loss of 24.2% over 11 months (currently available medications tend to report about 15-20% weight loss over a similar period). Another company, Amgen in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is preparing a Phase III trial for its drug maritide, which can be taken monthly and targets two pathways involved in blood sugar control and metabolism.
Researchers will continue to explore potential of GLP-1 agonists to treat other diseasesincluding Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and drug addiction.
The year could also mark a turning point in how pain is treated. U.S. regulators are expected to complete a review of a non-opioid painkiller called suzetrigine in January. If approved, the drug, developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston, Massachusetts, would be part of the first new class of drugs to treat acute pain in more than 20 years.
Trump takes over
Donald Trump’s return to the post of American president in January could bring radical changes to American science – with global ramifications. During his previous term, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Paris climate agreementan international commitment to limit global warming to 1.5-2°C above pre-industrial levels. Some researchers worry he could do it again, just as he might repeal climate regulations on power plants and automobiles.
Trump is also expected to introduce policies with implications for reproductive health and medicine. His appointment of Robert Kennedy Jr – known for his vaccine skepticism – as Secretary of Health and Human Services was criticized by scientists. THE appointment of billionaire Elon Musk leading an advisory body called the Department of Government Effectiveness could impact science agency budgets and staffing levels. During his election campaign, Trump promised to repeal President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence (AI)a guideline for develop AI technology safely and responsibly.
Donald Trump will become President of the United States for the second time on January 20, 2025.Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Pandemic Preparedness
March 2025 will mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused millions of deathsforced widespread lockdowns and stimulated rapid vaccine development and deployment.
The world is still learning how to prepare for and prevent future pandemics, and World Health Organization (WHO) member states missed its original deadline of June 2024 agree on a global treaty on the pandemic. Negotiations reached an impasse due to disagreements over rules for sharing samples and genome sequences of pathogens, as well as the use of technologies that could help low- and middle-income countries produce quickly provide vaccines, medicines and test kits in the event of a pandemic. Member states now aim to finalize the text of the agreement by May 2025. These efforts come at a crucial time: in August, the WHO updated its list of pathogens that could trigger the next pandemic include more than 30 microorganisms, including viruses that cause influenza A, dengue fever And mpox.