# 174 - How GLP-1s Like Ozempic & Wegovy Are Changing Pharma with Ben Locwin

- Show: [Let's Combinate](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate)
- Published: 2025-02-05
- Length: 23m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin
- Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letscombinate/episodes/174---How-GLP-1s-Like-Ozempic--Wegovy-Are-Changing-Pharma-with-Ben-Locwin-e2udr4g

## Summary

Ben Locwin, a healthcare executive and quality/regulatory subject matter expert, discusses the science, manufacturing, and regulatory landscape of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy. He explains that while these drugs have a long development history dating back to the 1970s, their recent commercial success has created massive capacity constraints for CDMOs and significant sustainability issues regarding the disposal of billions of auto-injector pens. Locwin highlights the regulatory arbitrage in the compounding space, where 503B facilities face fewer advertising restrictions than branded manufacturers, and notes the industry's shift toward longer-acting synthetic molecules like semaglutide to improve patient compliance.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=6) Introduction: Ben Locwin and the GLP-1 Era
- [2:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=125) History of GLP-1 Development and Weight Loss Mechanisms
- [6:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=408) Physiology: Gastric Emptying, Insulin, and Side Effects
- [9:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=587) Manufacturing Capacity, CDMOs, and 503B Compounding
- [13:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=839) Regulatory Arbitrage in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
- [17:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=1034) Sustainability Challenges of Auto-Injector Pens
- [20:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin#t=1249) Risk Management and Evolution from Lizard Peptides to Semaglutide

## Topics

- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Sustainability & circular products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sustainability-and-circularity)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Ozempic (product)
- Wegovy (product)
- Novo Nordisk (company)
- Contrave (product)
- EpiPen (product)
- Humira (product)
- Semaglutide (product)
- Liraglutide (product)
- Mazda (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [293 - Barbie Packaging AI, GLP-1 is creating a stir, why packaging is going to kill us all](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2024-10-15-293-barbie-packaging-ai-glp-1-is-creating-a-stir-why-packaging-is-going-to-kill) (People of Packaging)
- [Sara Naab On Going From Idea to Funding to One of the Bay Area's Most Innovative Life Sciences Co's](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2019-11-07-sara-naab-on-going-from-idea-to-funding-to-one-of-the-bay-areas-most-innovative) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Meet a Guru: Erica Loring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2020-10-28-meet-a-guru-erica-loring) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Meet a Guru: Karen Schuyler](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2021-03-08-meet-a-guru-karen-schuyler) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Shaking Things Up: What's Next for the Global Medical Device Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2021-12-16-shaking-things-up-whats-next-for-the-global-medical-device-podcast) (Global Medical Device Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2025-02-05-174-how-glp-1s-like-ozempic-wegovy-are-changing-pharma-with-ben-locwin. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Let's Combinate.