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Agonist

An agonist is a substance that fits a receptor and switches it on, like a key that turns a lock. A GLP-1 receptor agonist is a medicine that switches on the GLP-1 receptor the way the body's own GLP-1 does. A dual or triple agonist can switch on more than one kind of receptor.

For experts

In receptor pharmacology (IUPHAR terminology), an agonist is a ligand that binds a receptor and activates it to produce a response. GLP-1 receptor agonists activate GLP1R. Unimolecular multi-agonists are designed to engage several receptors: tirzepatide, for example, is labelled as a GIP receptor and GLP-1 receptor agonist.

Sources (3)

  1. 01International Union of Pharmacology Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification. XXXVIII. Update on terms and symbols in quantitative pharmacologyPharmacological Reviews (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2003-12 · accessed 2026-09-29
  2. 02Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Application of Glucagon-like Peptide-1Cell Metabolism (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2018-04-03 · accessed 2026-09-29
  3. 03MOUNJARO (tirzepatide) injection, solution - FDA-approved prescribing informationU.S. National Library of Medicine, DailyMed · 2026-09-02 · accessed 2026-09-29