In the unlikely event that you are bitten by a gila monster, North America’s largest lizard, it’s wise to seek medical attention. Their venom isn’t usually fatal to people, but it can cause severe pain. In the mid-1990s, scientists studying the gila’s venom discovered it contained a hormone called exendin-4, which regulates the lizard’s blood sugar after eating. Humans produce a similar hormone, GLP-1, but it degrades much faster in our bodies.
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Gila monsters are slow-moving, meaning prey can be hard to come by, so it’s helpful to have long-lasting glucose control. Diabetes researchers realised a synthetic version of exendin-4 could potentially help patients. The first such treatment, known as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, was released in 2005.