The Pill that May Soon Change the Treatment for Diabetes
So, why isn't it being used yet?
GLP-1 or incretins have a positive effect on the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas as they prevent the death of beta cells, and may even promote their growth.
But problems with naturally occurring GLP-1 is that it is destroyed within seconds in our blood. This means that to achieve all the mentioned positive effects a person must be given it continuous infusion. It is not possible in practice.
Once the functioning and all the positive physiological effects of GLP-1 has been understood, the search was started to find a drug that could mimic its action but should have the more prolonged time of action.