In the 1980s, Mojsov moved to theMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) where she was made head of a peptide synthesis facility. She arrived at MGH shortly afterJoel Habener had clonedproglucagon by studyinganglerfish found inBoston Harbor. Mojsov worked on the identification ofglucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone generated by the gut that triggers the release of insulin. Theamino acid sequence of GLP-1 was similar to agastric inhibitory peptide, anincretin. To try to identify whether a specific fragment of GLP-1 was an incretin, Mojsov synthesized an incretin-antibody and developed ways to track its presence. Specifically, Mojsov identified that a stretch of 31 amino acids in the GLP-1 was an incretin.[2][3] Together withGordon Weir at theJoslin Diabetes Center in Boston andHabener, Mojsov showed that small quantities of lab-synthesized GLP-1 could trigger insulin.[4][5]
In the 1990s, Mojsov returned toNew York City, where she went back toRockefeller University and the laboratory ofRalph M. Steinman (2011Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine). In 1992, the group atMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) using GLP-1 synthesized by Mojsov tested the GLP-1 in humans.[6] Drugs that emulate the action of GLP-1 have been developed into treatments for obesity and diabetes byNovo Nordisk andEli Lilly.[7] Eventually, the GLP-1 derivatives Mojsov synthesized, without her knowledge were patented as peptides able to prompt the release of insulin, but withJoel Habener as the sole-creator.[8] Mojsov fought to have her name included in patents, with MGH eventually agreeing to amend four patents to include her name and she received her one-third of drug royalties for one year.[9] She has continued to speak up for credit after her collaborators received various awards as new versions of GLP-1 have been approved and grown popular.[9][10][11][12]
2023:VinFuture, Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields – Jens Juul Holst, Joel Francis Habener, Daniel Joshua Drucker and Svetlana Mojsov[13]
2023:Nature 10 most influential people who shaped science[14]
2024:Pearl Meister GreengardPrize by the Rockefeller University[15][16]
2024:Time 100 Most Influential People, Pioneers section[17]
2024:Princess of Asturias Awards, Technical and Scientific Research – Daniel J. Drucker, Jeffrey M. Friedman, Joel F. Habener, Jens Juul Holst and Svetlana Mojsov[18]
2024:Tang Prize, Biopharmaceutical Science – Joel F. Habener, Svetlana Mojsov and Jens Juul Holst[19]
2025:Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences - Daniel J. Drucker, Joel Habener, Jens Juul Holst, Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and Svetlana Mojsov; Alberto Ascherio and Stephen L. Hauser; and David R. Liu[23]
2025:Warren Triennial Prize – Joel Habener, Daniel J. Drucker, Jens Holst and Svetlana Mojsov[24]
Mojsov, Svetlana; Merrifield, R. B. (1984–12). "An improved synthesis of crystalline mammalian glucagon". European Journal of Biochemistry.145 (3): 601–605.doi:10.1111/j.1432-1033.1984.tb08599.x.ISSN 0014–2956.
Nathan, David M; Schreiber, Eric; Fogel, Howard; Mojsov, Svetlana; Habener, Joel F (1992-02-01). "Insulinotropic Action of Glucagonlike Peptide-I-(7–37) in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Subjects". Diabetes Care.15 (2): 270–276.doi:10.2337/diacare.15.2.270.ISSN 0149–5992
The second chapter,The Discovery—A Murky Area, of the bookOff the Scales by Aimee Donnellan is devoted to the fundamental contribution of Svetlana Mojsov to the discovery of GLP-1, the unfair treatment by her collaborators at theMassachusetts General Hospital in Boston and her long plight to be recognized and included in the patents.[8]
^abDonnellan, Aimee (November 18, 2025).Off the scales: The inside story of Ozempic and the race to cure obesity (First ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press.ISBN978-1-250-38906-0.
