Developments of Glucagon Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) and Long-acting Analogs in Clinical and Preclinical Studies for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

The outstanding physiological functions of glucagon-like peptide-1 make it a promising drug candidate for blood glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes. However, the short half-life of GLP-1 limited its widely clinical utility due to the rapid degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) and renal clearance. Therefore, stabilisation of glucagon-like peptide-1 is critical for the use of this peptide in drug development. Scientists in pharmaceutical companies have contributed in years to obtain long-acting or sustained GLP-1 derivatives which are reviewed in this report.