Lilly and Novo share early data on GLP-1 drugs and aging
At an aging research conference at Harvard, the two largest GLP-1 makers presented early, heavily caveated work on whether semaglutide and tirzepatide may slow biological aging.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of semaglutide, and Eli Lilly, the maker of tirzepatide, each presented early research on GLP-1 drugs and aging at ARDD, an aging research conference held this year at Harvard. Longevity Technology reported on both talks. Each company described its findings as preliminary.
What Novo presented
Nikolaj Roed, a global project leader in Novo’s research and development group, presented data suggesting that semaglutide and similar GLP-1 drugs may support healthier aging. One analysis applied results from the SELECT heart trial to a real-world group of about 19,000 people in the UK taking semaglutide. From that model, Novo projected an overall gain of 1.9 years of remaining life on average, with a gain in every age group and the largest for people who started treatment younger. These are modeled estimates, not measured outcomes.
Novo also reported that across its heart outcome trials, people taking semaglutide showed lower estimates of biological age based on proteins in the blood. The change appeared within 13 to 20 weeks and held or grew over roughly three years.
The company said it is exploring other prescription uses for its medicines in areas such as inflammatory diseases, pain, addiction, and women’s and men’s health. In June, Novo’s CEO Mike Doustdar told Bloomberg that the company’s GLP-1 work could extend into longevity research and aesthetic medicine.
What Lilly presented
Kevin Duffin, who leads aging research at Lilly, shared early results suggesting tirzepatide may slow biological aging. He described the work as a small pilot to test methods and check consistency, not a final answer.
The data came from a smaller study inside SURMOUNT-5, Lilly’s trial comparing tirzepatide with semaglutide. Researchers took blood samples from people on tirzepatide at the start and again at week 72, about 1.4 years later. They measured chemical marks on DNA that are used to estimate biological age, with two outside labs, Zymo Research and TruDiagnostic, running the tests separately so the results could be cross-checked. The analysis covered 82 people, 71 of whom had samples from both time points.
All 15 of the aging “clocks” used showed less biological aging than the 1.4 years that had actually passed. Only two of those results were statistically significant, at about 1.1 and 0.7 years. A measure of the pace of aging dipped slightly, and the second lab’s data pointed the same way. Organ-specific clocks gave younger estimates for the immune system, kidneys, liver, and heart and blood vessels, and the predicted protein changes pointed toward lower inflammation. Lilly compared the pattern to findings from studies of calorie restriction and weight-loss surgery.
The caveats
Lilly’s study was small and had no placebo or comparison group. It also ran for a short time compared with how much these aging clocks can vary from one reading to the next. Some clocks disagreed with each other, and several predicted protein changes did not match the proteins actually measured. The clocks themselves were not built from randomized trial data.
Lilly called the results preliminary and said they need to be repeated in larger, ideally randomized studies. It plans to extend the work to semaglutide and other weight management studies.
Where it stands
Longevity Technology noted that with both companies now measuring biological age in their GLP-1 programs, the two largest makers of obesity drugs are building the kind of evidence an FDA panel said the aging field must supply itself. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are prescription-only medicines, and eligibility, dosing, risks, and side effects are matters for the product label and a prescriber.
General information, not medical advice. Care decisions are between you and a licensed prescriber.