BI 1820237 dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
A first study in 95 men found the thing combination drugs have to worry about. Its effect on slowing the stomach added to liraglutide's. That slowing is where the nausea comes from.
Evidence grade for BI 1820237: Preliminary. The rule: studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. The sum on this page: 2 human studies where nobody was given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 0
- Human studies
- 0
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
2 human studies where nobody was given it
No first-hand reports gathered yet. That is a gap in what we have collected, not a finding that nothing has been reported.
Goal pages: Gut health
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
BI 1820237 is a lab made drug that switches on Y2, the same fullness switch PYY uses. Boehringer Ingelheim is testing it as an add-on to other weight loss drugs. It is not approved anywhere.
What people take it for
- More weight loss on top of a GLP-1 drug.
- A second appetite signal for people who do not do well on GLP-1 drugs.
What studies in people showed
Only one study in people is published. 95 healthy men carrying extra weight got single doses. About 39 percent had drug related side effects, mostly stomach and bowel. Nausea and vomiting came and went at higher doses. Tests showed it slowed the stomach, and that slowing added to what liraglutide did. That is where the nausea comes from. No weight loss result in people has been published. In mice, the company says it worked well with survodutide.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- Adding low dose liraglutide did not make side effects worse in the study.
The bad
- About 39 percent had drug related side effects, mostly stomach and bowel.
- Nausea and vomiting came and went at higher doses.
Where these come from: From the one human study on this page. We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
My bottom line
My opinion: single doses in 95 men is not a reason to try anything. The early sign is that stacking it with a GLP-1 drug stacks stomach trouble. Wait for real results.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals BI 1820237 has been tested for in people, biggest studies first. We count only what the studies on this page say, so the real numbers may be higher.
- Gut and digestion95 people · 1 study · 1 found nothing
35 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind BI 1820237
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove BI 1820237 does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about BI 1820237 and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is BI 1820237?
A first study in 95 men found the thing combination drugs have to worry about. Its effect on slowing the stomach added to liraglutide's. That slowing is where the nausea comes from.
Boehringer Ingelheim's drug works on the same path as the PYY drug, for the same problem. GLP-1 drugs cause stomach side effects, and some people do not respond to them. So a second fullness switch is worth aiming at.
The first study in people is mostly a side effect story, and a specific one. 95 otherwise healthy men carrying extra weight got single doses. Drug related side effects, mainly stomach and bowel, hit 39 percent of people in the drug alone parts and 30.6 percent in the part with liraglutide added. The more telling finding is why. The researchers used a standard way to see how fast the stomach empties: they tracked how fast paracetamol shows up in the blood. That suggested this drug and a low dose of liraglutide each slowed the stomach, and the effects added up.
That is the honest reason stacking appetite drugs stacks the nausea. Here it was measured, not assumed. In mice, the company reports the drug works together with survodutide for weight loss. That has not been shown in people.
How does BI 1820237 work?
It switches on the Y2 receptor, the same switch PYY(3-36) uses. Y2 quiets the brain cells that drive hunger, so switching it on turns appetite down. Part of how people feel that is a slower emptying stomach. That slower stomach is also the source of the nausea and vomiting.
What have studies in people found about BI 1820237?
One published first study in people, with single doses in 95 men. It reported safety, side effects and how fast the stomach emptied. No weight loss result in people has been published.
- 95 otherwise healthy men with a raised BMI got single rising doses from 0.075 to 2.4 mg, across three parts, one of them with liraglutide added.
- Drug related side effects, mainly stomach and bowel, hit 39.0 percent in the drug alone parts and 30.6 percent in the part with liraglutide.
- Nausea and vomiting came and went at higher doses.
- Adding liraglutide did not make side effects worse. But the stomach slowing effects looked like they added up, based on the paracetamol test.
- This was a single dose study built to check side effects. It reports no weight result.
What this does not tell you: 95 healthy men given single doses. No women, no repeat doses and no weight result. Liraglutide 0.6 mg is the starting dose, not a treatment dose. The claim that it works with survodutide comes from mice and has not been shown in people. The study that could show it has not reported. Read this page as a record of how the drug acts and what side effects it causes. It is not evidence the drug works.
The state of the research
The stomach finding is why this small first study gets a page. Combination weight drugs are usually talked about as if the paths were separate, so benefits would add and side effects would not. Here someone measured, and the stomach slowing added up. Nausea and vomiting are the main reason people stop these drugs. So a combination that stacks that effect has a ceiling that has nothing to do with how well it curbs appetite.
The PYY drug in this same group hit exactly that ceiling in its mid-stage trial. Two separate programmes on the same receptor family, one showing the cause and the other showing the result, make a stronger signal than either alone.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
95people, across 1 study in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 2025 | 95 | 100% |
The whole total is one study of 95. Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. 1 more study in people gives no headcount and is not counted here. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
2 of 3 sources here are studies in people. The rest is not.
- Study in people · done in people267%
- Animal study · done in animals133%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Sources here come from just two years, 2025 and 2026.
Too few different years on this page to draw a timeline.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 4 · how much does what
Nobody has tested different amounts in people
This chart would show how the effect changes as the amount goes up. For this compound, nobody has measured that in people. So we leave it empty. We will not borrow an animal chart and pretend it works the same in people.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Peptide
- Molecule weight
- Peptidic agonist. No mass asserted; no source loaded states one.
- Half-life
- Stated in words, not a numbersee the exact wording below
- Chain length
- None on file
Half-life as stated on file: Not asserted. Single ascending dose pharmacokinetics were reported; no half-life figure was resolved in the sources loaded.
No amino acid sequence is on file for BI 1820237, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2025A randomized phase I study of BI 1820237, a novel neuropeptide Y receptor type 2 agonist, alone or in combination with low-dose liraglutide
This first test in people was about safety, and the drug made a lot of them sick. 95 otherwise healthy men carrying extra weight were given single rising doses, some with a low dose of liraglutide alongside. Drug-related side effects, mostly stomach and bowel, hit about 39% in the first two parts and about 31% in the third. Nausea and vomiting came and went at higher doses. Adding liraglutide did not make the side effects worse. No weight loss result was reported.
95 otherwise healthy men with BMI 25.0 to 34.9, three-part partially blinded first-in-human study of single ascending doses from 0.075 to 2.4 mg, with and without liraglutide 0.6 mg. Drug-related adverse events, mainly gastrointestinal, in 39.0% of participants in parts 1 and 2 and 30.6% in part 3. Transient nausea and vomiting at higher doses. No difference in tolerability when combined with liraglutide, and post-dose paracetamol pharmacokinetics suggested additive effects on gastric emptying.
- Study in people2026A study of BI 1820237 in combination with survodutide in people with overweight or obesity
The combination study has finished and has published nothing. Boehringer Ingelheim enrolled 23 people with overweight or obesity to see how the drug, survodutide, or both together affect brain activity, and completed it in February 2025. No results are posted. It is worth knowing what it actually measures. Brain scans in 23 people, not weight lost by anybody.
The human combination study with survodutide, which is the test of the synergy claim above.
- Animal study2025Novel NPY2R agonist BI 1820237 provides synergistic anti-obesity efficacy when combined with the GCGR/GLP-1R dual agonist survodutide
In mice. This company study reports that the drug worked together with survodutide for more weight loss. The word synergy comes from this animal paper, not from any result in people.
The preclinical basis for combining it with survodutide, reporting synergy. Animal work, and the word synergistic belongs to that paper rather than to any human result.
Where to buy BI 1820237
No seller we track lists BI 1820237 yet. We read sellers’ public product lists every week, and this section fills in as soon as one does. Every seller, graded
Common questions
Has BI 1820237 been tested in people?
Not in a completed trial cited here. 2 human studies where nobody was given it. A first study in 95 men found the thing combination drugs have to worry about. Its effect on slowing the stomach added to liraglutide's. That slowing is where the nausea comes from.
What is the BI 1820237 dosage?
No human dose established. No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result. 2 human studies where nobody was given it
Is BI 1820237 FDA-approved?
Investigational. Early safety studies published, plus a study giving it together with survodutide.
Does BI 1820237 cause weight loss?
Unknown in people. The published study gave single doses and measured safety, side effects and stomach emptying, not weight. The claim that it works with survodutide comes from mouse work, and the human combination study has not reported.
What does the gastric emptying finding mean for me?
It is the measured reason that combining appetite drugs tends to combine the nausea. If you have struggled with stomach side effects on a GLP-1 drug, this kind of add-on is unlikely to be the answer. The mid-stage result for the related PYY drug backs that up.
How is this different from the PYY analogue?
They hit the same receptor, starting from different molecules, and the PYY drug is further along. Its mid-stage trial as an add-on to semaglutide gave an effect its own authors called not clinically meaningful. The dose was capped by side effects. That is the most likely preview of where this one lands.