Obesity drugs’ next tests, and rising threats: 3 chronic disease stories to watch

Chronic disease is, by its very definition, omnipresent. But changes year to year have the potential to make certain conditions into flaming-red targets for researchers and drugmakers. This year was one for obesity, marked by new — and for the first time, highly effective — weight loss drugs that demonstrated other health benefits.

But whether that wave of interest will persist into the new year, or transfer to some other condition — maybe some liver diseases that are troublingly on the rise — is what we’re asking our crystal ball. Here are three predictions for what’s to come in the world of chronic disease in 2024: