Modern medicine can do some amazing things, and has saved the lives of countless millions of people. There are, however, some drawbacks to most medications. For one, it can be very expensive. Another issue is that some of them are difficult to develop, resulting in occasional shortages. Finally, the medication is generic in the sense that everyone who is prescribed a medication will get the same thing (with possible adjustments of dosages).

These are known issues with most medicines, but can anything be done about it?

Well, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Medicine, perhaps. The scientists who published the study used gene-editing technology to make the livers of mice produce its own Ozempic-like drug.

That’s right, the mouse’s liver created its own medication, and while they had it make something like Ozempic, the same methodology could be used for other drugs as well.

In the study, the researchers had lab mice who were obese and pre-diabetic, and then used a CRISPR-based editing method to add a gene into the cells of their liver. The gene instructed those cells to make something called exenatide, which is similar to the GLP-1 drug.

From there, they tested the blood of the mice and found that the mice continued to make the exenatide for up to 28 weeks.

In addition, the mice consumed less food and gained less weight than the mice who had unedited genes. In a press release about the accomplishment, the researchers said:

“We hope that our design of a one-time genetic treatment can be applied to many conditions that do not have exact genetic causes.”

Additional study will be needed to see if any of the known negative side-effects of other GLP-1’s will remain from this method. This could include an elevated risk of pancreatitis.

The hope is that when the patient’s own liver is producing the ‘drug’ it will seem more natural to the body and have fewer side effects, or less extreme side effects. Risks of side effects aside, having the ability to generate specific drugs within a patient’s own liver would have some major advantages, including the fact that it could be localized and there would be no need for long production processes.

Also, there is obviously no risk of a medication expiring or having a shortage when it is produced within the patient’s own liver.

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