Eli Lilly, the company that makes the blockbuster weight loss treatment Zepbound, will start studying its obesity products as treatments for alcohol and drug abuse, making it the first major drugmaker to do so, CEO David Ricks said Tuesday.
Emerging research suggests that GLP-1 drugs — Zepbound is one such treatment — not only reduce food cravings but may also suppress desires for other substances. Yet, so far, no pharma companies have tested the therapies specifically in addiction.
“These medicines, we think and we’ve aimed to prove, can be useful for other things we don’t think about connected to weight. These are often called anti-hedonics, so they are reducing that desire cycle,” said Ricks, speaking at an event hosted by The Economic Club of Washington D.C. “Next year, you’ll see Lilly start large studies in alcohol abuse and nicotine use, even in drug abuse.”
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