Ozempic's Active Drug May Slow Aging in Mice, NIH-Funded Study Finds

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, may do more than suppress appetite and improve blood sugar. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found it reduced several harmful effects of aging and extended lifespan in older, healthy mice. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley compared it with calorie restriction, a known lifespan-extending method, and found semaglutide went further in some areas.

A team led by Danica Chen, a UC Berkeley professor of metabolic biology and nutrition, gave semaglutide to 20-month-old female mice for three months. Treated mice showed better muscle and cognitive function than untreated mice, with gene activity pointing to reduced inflammation and less decline in tissue repair. In a separate group treated with semaglutide until death, median lifespan was nearly 100 days longer than in untreated mice.

Because semaglutide curbs appetite, the team tested whether these gains simply came from eating less. For five months, one group of 20-month-old female mice got semaglutide, while another followed a 24% calorie-restricted diet matched to the treated mice's intake. Most measurements were similar, but semaglutide mice improved beyond baseline in exploratory behavior, spatial memory and blood-sugar control; their metabolism stayed steady, while it slowed in the calorie-restricted mice.

"These differences point to the possibility that GLP-1 drugs tap into a biological pathway independent of calorie restriction," said Chen, the study's corresponding author. Rafael de Cabo of the NIH's National Institute on Aging, author of a commentary on the study, said: "Most chronic diseases are deeply rooted in the aging process. If GLP-1 agonists do indeed slow it down, then a wide range of clinical benefits is exactly what you'd expect to see."

The findings do not show that Ozempic, Wegovy or other GLP-1 drugs extend human lifespan. Further research, including work building on the SLIM LIVER trial, is needed to know whether mouse effects translate to people, including healthy older adults without obesity or diabetes.