glp 1 agonist lizard Curious how a slow-moving sparked one of the biggest pharmaceutical breakthroughs of our time? The blockbuster GLP-1 drugs behind today's diabetes and weight-loss treatments have an origin story few people know The Guatemalan beaded lizard is

, Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician and Co-Founder, Amanecia Health Last reviewed June 18, 2026 by Lauren Leavitt, M.D., Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician, Amanecia Health

After experimenting on the lizard, Drucker and his team found that these reptiles are very unique in that it has genes for Exendin-4, the protein that became the first diabetes GLP-1 treatment, he explained

We then reviewed clinical studies of Chlorella and found high rates of other gastrointestinal side-effects

In depth: L-Glutathione L-Glutathione is a naturally occurring antioxidant composed of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine