Joint Ventures: GLP-1 Receptor Agonists — From Metabolic Drug to Immunomodulator? Part 1

In this episode of Joint Ventures, hosts Jack Arnold, MBBS, PhD, an academic clinical lecturer in rheumatology at the University of Leeds, and Rihards Buss, MD, a consultant rheumatologist at Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, examine the growing evidence for GLP-1 receptor agonists in rheumatological disease — drugs originally developed for glycemic control that are now drawing serious attention as potential immunomodulators with implications across the specialty.

The conversation opens by tracing the arc of GLP-1 agonist development, from exenatide's approval in 2005 through to semaglutide's landmark cardiovascular and renal data in the SELECT1 and FLOW2 trials, before turning to the question now quietly circulating in rheumatology clinics: are these drugs doing something beyond shifting weight?