Marrying Glucagon with GLP-1 to Treat Obesity

Because glucagon raises blood glucose in the liver, it's counter-intuitive to think of it as the basis for a strategy to treat obesity and its associated consequences, including adult onset diabetes. But a research team has shown that a single-molecule "co-agonist" of glucagon and GLP-1 normalizes glucose tolerance and reduces body fat and weight in preclinical models. This molecular-level polypharmacy is particularly appealing in metabolic disease, where single mechanisms tend to offer only modest therapeutic effects.