Semaglutide and tirzepatide may feel like they appeared overnight, but the first GLP-1 medication was approved back in 2005 — and its origin story runs through the venomous saliva of a desert lizard. Here's the whole arc: every approved drug, who made it, how they compare, and what's still coming.
Longer than you might think
GLP-1 medications feel like a recent phenomenon, driven by the cultural wave around semaglutide and tirzepatide over the past few years. But the drug class itself is two decades old, and its scientific roots go back further still. This guide covers the full history, every approved medication in the U.S. with its manufacturer and approval year, a side-by-side comparison, and the medications still in the pipeline.
Where it started
The GLP-1 hormone itself was identified in the 1980s as part of research into gut hormones that regulate insulin. The breakthrough that made drug development possible came from an unexpected source: exendin-4, a peptide found in the saliva of the Gila monster, a venomous lizard. Exendin-4 activates the same receptor as human GLP-1 but resists the rapid breakdown that limits natural GLP-1's usefulness as a drug — this discovery became the basis for the first approved GLP-1 medication.
The full approval timeline
| Year (approx.) | Medication | Generic name | Manufacturer | Notes |
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