Advancing Obesity Science: One Woman's Journey Across Continents and Discoveries

Sponsored Content: This blog post was sponsored and submitted by Amgen

By the age of 10, Murielle Véniant knew she had a passion for biology. Originally focused on a future as a veterinarian, she shifted her attention to humans in her teenage years after her uncle unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack at 49. This tragic event left her with many questions about why such events happen, how someone who had been alive and laughing one day could be gone the next, and most importantly, if there was anything she could do to help make a difference.

A Lifelong Journey in Science

These questions sparked the beginning of a long journey of scientific research focused on fighting disease. Over the course of 40 years, Véniant’s career took her from France to Scotland to San Francisco and ultimately to Southern California – where her story with Amgen began.

Research in Obesity Care

Although Murielle started in diabetes research at Amgen, she always had a nagging thought that lipids, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes were part of something bigger and knew that not enough researchers were studying obesity despite rising rates in the United States and around the world.¹ She eventually shifted her research to obesity, leading the charge with an innovative approach to tackling the disease with an investigational medicine, maridebart cafraglutide (formerly AMG 133).* Its shortened name is MariTide, inspired partially by her middle name.²

Now as Amgen’s lead scientist focused on their obesity pipeline, Murielle Véniant-Ellison continues to explore the complex biology underlying obesity. Her journey from a small town in France to the Amgen labs exemplifies how curiosity and willingness to ask challenging questions can lead to a lifelong path of scientific discovery. Read more about Véniant-Ellison’s story and her passion for obesity research here.

*Maridebart cafraglutide is an investigational drug. Efficacy and safety have not been established.