Three scientists were recognized by the Lasker Awards for their work on the GLP-1 hormone. Others were honored for work to stop H.I.V. and for immune system discoveries.

Each year, the Lasker Awards honor a number of medical professionals doing standout work in research and public service. The New York Times has called the awards “the nation’s most prestigious medical prizes.

This year’s prestigious Lasker medical awards recognize a trio of scientists without whom Ozempic and other blockbuster weight-loss drugs might not exist. The work of Joel Habener, a physician-investigator at the Mass General Research Institute and Harvard Medical School professor;

Together with Habener and others, she proved this theory through lab experiments and human trials, identifying its therapeutic potential.It was only later studies by Habener, Mojsov, and others that revealed GLP-1's ability to slow stomach emptying and its interaction with receptors in the brain,

James Chen, a professor of microbiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has won a Lasker Award for his discovery of an enzyme involved in immune response.

Three scientists are honored for developing a class of blockbuster weight-loss drugs. Is a Nobel prize on the way?

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are booming in popularity, but experts warn they aren't silver bullets for obesity.