Canadian scientist awarded for discovering hormone used in Ozempic – National [Video]

A Canadian researcher has won a 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for discovering the GLP-1 hormone used in diabetes and obesity medications — including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro — that have changed the lives of millions of people around the world.

Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist and a clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health, shares the US$3 million prize with four colleagues from the United States and Denmark.

They were all involved in the development of the now-famous drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Drucker and three co-winners made discoveries about glucagon-like peptide-1 in their labs. The other recipient of the award, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen, who works for Novo Nordisk, led the way in developing it into medications.

The Breakthrough Prizes, often referred to as the “Oscars of Science,” were handed out Saturday in Los Angeles for categories including Fundamental Physics and Mathematics, in addition to Life Sciences.