Long before Ozempic and Wegovy became household names, a Department of Veterans Affairs researcher studying Gila monster venom in a Bronx laboratory made a discovery that would revolutionize diabetes treatment and weight loss medicine. The breakthrough is now called one of the most consequential health advances of the 21st century.
In the early 1990s, Dr. John Eng, an endocrinologist at the Bronx VA Medical Center, was investigating the biochemical composition of Gila monster venom. The venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States had an unusual ability: It could go months without eating while maintaining stable blood sugar levels.
Eng ordered dried venom samples from a Utah serpentarium and began testing. Working with colleague Dr. Jean-Pierre Raufman, who made frequent trips from Brooklyn to the Bronx VA lab carrying test tubes in his Toyota Camry, the team isolated a peptide molecule they named exendin-4.
The Critical Discovery
When Raufman compared exendin-4's structure to other human peptides, he found that it matched GLP-1, a gut hormone that stimulates insulin production only when blood sugar is elevated. But there was a crucial difference.
Natural GLP-1 in humans degrades in about two minutes, broken down by enzymes before it can provide therapeutic benefit. Exendin-4, however, remained active for hours. This stability made it a viable drug candidate where human GLP-1 had failed.
"It was the most effective antidiabetic agent anyone had ever seen," said Andrew Young, former vice president of research at Amylin Pharmaceuticals, the company that brought the first drug based on this discovery to market.
From Bench to Bedside
Eng wanted the VA to patent exendin-4. The VA declined. He then licensed the discovery to Amylin Pharmaceuticals, which developed it into exenatide, marketed as Byetta. The FDA approved it in 2005 as the first GLP-1 receptor agonist for type 2 diabetes.
Byetta required twice-daily injections, limiting its appeal. But it proved that the concept worked. Pharmaceutical companies refined the approach, developing longer-acting versions based on modified human GLP-1. Novo Nordisk released Victoza in 2010, then Ozempic in 2017, a once-weekly injection that became a blockbuster. Wegovy, a higher-dose version approved for obesity, followed.
None would exist without the VA research that demonstrated exendin-4's potential.
Beyond Expectations
What researchers didn't anticipate was the full scope of GLP-1's effects. "We didn't know that GLP-1 would reduce appetite and be useful for weight loss," said Dr. Daniel Drucker, a GLP-1 researcher. "We didn't know that GLP-1 would reduce heart attacks and strokes and improve metabolic liver disease and all of the things that GLP-1 does now."
Today, GLP-1 medications represent a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical market. Estimates suggest 9% of the U.S. population will be using GLP-1 drugs by decade's end. The medications don't just control diabetes. They enable significant weight loss, reduce cardiovascular events and show promise for conditions from Alzheimer's to addiction.
VA Research Legacy
The Gila monster discovery exemplifies VA's research impact. Congress has called it one of the most consequential health advances of the 21st century. The breakthrough emerged from curiosity-driven research at a VA facility, funded by the VA Office of Research and Development, and conducted by a clinician-researcher treating veterans with diabetes.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of VA research. Since 1925, VA researchers have pioneered treatments that benefit not just veterans but patients worldwide, from the first effective tuberculosis treatments and cardiac pacemaker development to CT scan concepts and liver transplantation.
Nearly 80% of VA researchers are also clinicians, giving them unique insight into patient needs. This combination of research expertise and clinical care continues driving innovations that transform medicine, often in unexpected ways, from a venomous desert lizard to millions of patients managing chronic disease.
Sources: VA Research, "Diabetes drug from Gila monster venom" (2019). Popular Mechanics, "The Secret Venomous History of Ozempic" (2025). National Institute on Aging, "Exendin-4: From lizard to laboratory...and beyond" (2012). U.S. Congress, Senate Resolution 215, "Veterans Affairs Research Week," 119th Congress (2025). WHYY, "Ozempic: How Gila monster venom led to weight loss drugs" (2025). Diabetes In Control, "Dr. John Eng's Research Found That the Saliva of ohe Gila Monster Contains a Hormone That Treats Diabetes Better Than Any Other Medicine" (2007).
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