Semaglutide was invented in the early 2000s. Weight loss is an extremely complicated and societally mediated problem that we didn't have a 'cheat code' like this for until recently.

Semaglutide was patented only in 2018. The previous medication was liraglutide.

It behaved similarly but had a half-life of only a few hours. It required daily injections, and you could feel its effects wax and wane throughout the day.