Drug discovery strategies for next-generation anti-diabetic and anti-obesity therapies

Diabetes ranks as the seventh leading cause of death globally, claiming 1.5 million victims annually, yet the complexity of energy metabolism makes pharmaceutical intervention difficult—often requiring simultaneous modulation of multiple drug targets. Trends in Drug Discovery in Diabetes and Obesity assembles drug developers from pharma companies who share hard-to-find insight on strategies for developing more efficient therapies.

The book surveys critical drug classes including GLP-1 receptor agonists, GIP antagonists, poly-agonist drugs, and long-acting insulin variants, covering both peptide and small molecule approaches. Selected case studies detail the discovery pathways of recently approved drugs, providing direct insight into the decision-making and optimization processes that led from target identification through clinical validation to market approval.

Readers will also find:

• Reviews of recent therapy developments and emerging treatment paradigms reshaping the current diabetes and obesity pharmacological landscape
• Evaluation of poly-agonist drug potential and their projected role in future multi-target therapeutic strategies for metabolic disorders
• Perspectives from industry professionals across pharmaceutical companies offering practical context rarely available in academic literature alone
• Coverage of peptide drug design strategies alongside small molecule approaches for addressing complex metabolic pathway modulation challenges
• Case studies tracing recently approved drugs from early discovery through optimization, illustrating real-world drug development decision frameworks

Designed for medicinal chemists, pharmaceutical chemists, and endocrinologists working in drug discovery and development, this volume delivers the strategic and mechanistic insight needed to advance the next generation of therapeutics targeting diabetes and obesity across both industry and academic research settings.

Lars Linderoth, PhD, is a Director at Novo Nordisk, where he has managed multiple departments within research chemistry in Denmark. He has authored several publications and is named as inventor on several patents within the field of drug discovery, bringing direct industry perspective to this volume.

Søren Østergaard, PhD, is a Principal Scientist at Novo Nordisk with extensive experience in peptide drug discovery. Previously holding an assistant professorship at The University of Copenhagen, he has authored more than 45 publications and is named as inventor on more than 20 patents.