Making weight-loss drugs just got better for the environment

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-03 21:00

Australia; VIC

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The peptide drug industry making weight loss drugs is booming. It also creates enormous amounts of toxic waste. Each year, 56 million kilograms of hazardous waste is created from Ozempic and other peptide-based drugs. International researchers have now developed a clean, efficient way to manufacture these drugs using water, rather than toxic organic solvents. The new research, published in Nature Sustainability, could reshape how many of our vital medicines are made, while reducing their cost on the environment.