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“… Take the blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic. It has its origins in the kind of basic science research that gets made fun of as wasteful: In the 1980s two N.I.H. scientists were studying the effect of Gila monster lizards’ venom, using guinea pigs as a proxy for human physiology. When the scientists noticed that it caused a particular pancreatic enzyme to spike, however, they realized that they might have the makings of a new diabetes drug. The scientists took their findings to Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, all of which turned them down. They did eventually get interest from a start-up, and today that research has led to not just an innovative new diabetes drug but also the megaseller we know as Ozempic — many lives saved, much health improved, tens of billions in economic activity generated. …”
“… Take the blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic. It has its origins in the kind of basic science research that gets made fun of as wasteful: In the 1980s two N.I.H. scientists were studying the effect of Gila monster lizards’ venom, using guinea pigs as a proxy for human physiology. When the scientists noticed that it caused a particular pancreatic enzyme to spike, however, they realized that they might have the makings of a new diabetes drug. The scientists took their findings to Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk, all of which turned them down. They did eventually get interest from a start-up, and today that research has led to not just an innovative new diabetes drug but also the megaseller we know as Ozempic — many lives saved, much health improved, tens of billions in economic activity generated. …”