Ozempic and other GLP-1 Drugs: Here’s Where Things Are Headed in 2026

At Stocks Down Under, it has been a while since we’ve looked at Ozempic and other GLP-1 Drugs. Investors paid a lot of attention to them in 2023, particularly those invested in companies with potential to be impacted directly or indirectly. The industry has come a fair way in the past couple of years and not all of the developments have been positive, not even for the big producers.

Let’s take a glance into our crystal ball and see what could be coming in 2026.

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Recap of GLP-1 and the major players

Ozempic is a GLP-1 drug, named after the naturally occuring hormone in the gut that is released after food intake that it stimulates. GLP-1 helps control appetite, slow gastric emptying, improve insulin secretion in response to meals, and regulate blood glucose levels. For some decades, GLP-1 was already used as a controlled for diabetes and was approved by regulators for this.

Nonetheless, it had been observed that it could impact non-diabetics with obesity and so it began to be taken up for this purpose, even without regulator approval, Adption has been quick and the market projected to continue expanding rapidly throughout the decade as more formulations, indications, and competitors enter the field.

In early 2026, there are really only 2 players – Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Novo Nordisk has the famous Ozemic and Wegovy, not to mention Rybelsus which is an oral formulation as opposed to being an injection. Novo also continues to advance next‑generation therapies, such as CagriSema, a combination of semaglutide with an amylin receptor agonist, aiming to broaden metabolic benefit and extend its franchise beyond the original products.

Eli Lilly is the other leading GLP‑1 innovator. Its dual GLP‑1/GIP receptor agonist tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for obesity, has secured significant market share due to strong efficacy in both glycemic control and weight reduction.

Its a blessing to be big and also a curse

Now it is a good thing to be making a lot of money. But it costs money to make money. Indeed, compnaies are advancing next-generation treatments through clinical trials which are a costly and risky endeavour. There have been supply and adherence challenges and companies can do little but build more factories.

There is also concern about regulatory interventions, including possible bans or even price controls. Of course, as competition intensifies, costs will be a concern anyway especially as patents expire and generic and biosimilars enter the market. But the latter is more in the longer-term.

What 2026 holds

Other large companies are also active in the GLP‑1 space and this is a key thing to watch. AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, and Roche are among those investing in GLP‑1 or related metabolic drug development. Partnerships, licensing deals, and collaborations between established pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms are common as companies seek to broaden pipelines and leverage GLP‑1 mechanisms in new compounds or delivery formats. Emerging players like Structure Therapeutics and Verdiva Bio are advancing oral or novel peptide variants, while regional players, especially in Asia, are preparing biosimilars and generics as key patents expire toward the end of this decade.

As a result, what is already a multibillion-dollar industry will grow further. Indeed, some estimates suggest it was over US$60bn in 2025 and this was just with 2 players.

But investors should watch for two further developments. First, oral therapies coming through which will have more utility than DIY injections. The clinical trial results could be seen in 2026 with one example being orforglipron. But we could also see GLP-1 drugs be adopted for other purposes such as for cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.

Studies have shown that GLP‑1 receptor agonists can reduce cardiovascular risk, leading clinicians to adopt these medicines more widely for patients with metabolic syndrome or elevated cardiovascular risk. This broadened clinical utility has supported market growth and expanded use in diverse patient populations.

What GLP-1 drugs mean for other players

We saw companies like CSL (ASX:CSL) be sold off over concerns that if you could reduce obesity, you could reduce healthcare problems that make them money. Now of course, GLP-1 can’t prevent obesity-related diseases once you have them, and some healthcare companies like CSL had their own issues impacting their share price. But if GLP-1 could be used to aid health in other ways (i.e. cardiovascular), we could see such an impact.

This being said, GLP-1 therapies can also represent an opportunity and that is why many big players are investing in them – they see it is a marketing opportunity. Ultimately, investors need to ask themselves what GLP-1 drugs will mean for their company. Traditional chronic disease markets won’t disappear overnight. Instead, we are likely to see a gradual shift over 5–10 years, with preventive/metabolic therapies growing rapidly while certain chronic disease markets slow.

Conclusion

2026 should be another year to watch in this space. Now, as was the case in 2023, GLP‑1 drugs could gradually reduce the incidence of obesity-related diseases, which in turn might slow growth for certain legacy therapies. And if they expand into other indications like for cardiovascular health, a further impact could be seen.

But at the same time, there is the opportunity for healthcare companies to profit as the legacy drugs come off patent and new drugs enter the market – both biosimilars and new products that have easier methods of administration.