Dr. Daniel Drucker awarded the 2026 Lefoulon-Delalande Foundation Scientific Prize

The prestigious annual award honours scientists who have made major contributions to cardiovascular physiology, biology or medicine. Dr. Drucker’s pioneering work demonstrated that GLP-1 plays a critical role in regulating blood sugar levels and appetite, findings that ultimately led to the development and approval of GLP-1 based therapies for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. He was also the first to show, in animal models, that GLP-1 has beneficial effects on heart health independent of weight loss. These discoveries have since been confirmed in large-scale clinical trials, expanding the therapeutic potential of these compounds across multiple conditions.

Dr. Drucker shares the €600,000 prize with Dr. Jens Juul Holst of the University of Copenhagen. The two scientists have received joint honours for their work on GLP-1, most recently the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

To learn more about Dr. Drucker’s pioneering research, read our feature story, "The greatest reward for a physician is to improve people’s health."

Watch the video below to explore the beginnings of GLP-1 research: