Supaglutide dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Approved in China in January 2025 for type 2 diabetes. That approval rests on two studies in more than 700 adults. Almost everything you find under the name supaglutide is monkey and mouse work. That is because the human studies are listed under its official name, efsubaglutide alfa.
Evidence grade for Supaglutide: Moderate. The rule: at least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. The sum on this page: 3 completed trials, 190 people given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 190
- Human studies
- 3
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
3 completed trials, 190 people 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: Fat loss and metabolism, Muscle and strength, 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.
Supaglutide is a weekly diabetes shot. China approved it in January 2025 under a different name, efsubaglutide alfa. It is in the same family as Ozempic. It is not approved for weight loss anywhere.
What people take it for
- Lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.
- Weight loss, though that use is not approved.
- Fatty liver, based on monkey studies.
What studies in people showed
Two studies in China, with more than 700 adults in total, led to its approval. In people new to diabetes drugs, the 3 mg dose cut average blood sugar by 2.15 points in 24 weeks. In people already on metformin, it fell 1.80 points, against 0.74 on a dummy shot. Weight loss was small, 3.14 percent. A small weight study of 50 people found 7.16 percent weight loss. But 2.00 kg of that loss was lean tissue like muscle. In monkeys, liver fat fell 40 percent. That has not been tested in people.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- Blood sugar dropped well in both key studies.
- Side effects were mostly mild or moderate stomach problems.
The bad
- Stomach side effects were the main complaint in the studies.
- In the small weight study, part of the weight lost was muscle and other lean tissue, not just fat.
- It is a big protein, so the body may make antibodies against it. Nobody has tracked that for years in people.
Where these come from: The study results on this page. We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
My bottom line
A real, approved diabetes drug in China with solid studies. It is not a proven weight-loss drug. If you want to lose weight, the muscle loss number is the one I would watch.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals Supaglutide 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.
- Losing weight190 people · 2 studies
- Blood sugar and insulin140 people · 2 studies
- Losing fat specifically50 people · 1 study
- Keeping or building muscle50 people · 1 study
Animal and lab work, not yet tested in people
Real results, but from animals or cells, not people. What works in a mouse often does not work the same way in a person. Nobody can patent this, so nobody would ever earn back the cost of a study in people. That is usually why there is none. The record on this one is set out below.
- Feeling less hungry1 animal or lab study
- Liver fat and liver health1 animal or lab study
30 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind Supaglutide
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove Supaglutide does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about Supaglutide and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is Supaglutide?
Approved in China in January 2025 for type 2 diabetes. That approval rests on two studies in more than 700 adults. Almost everything you find under the name supaglutide is monkey and mouse work. That is because the human studies are listed under its official name, efsubaglutide alfa.
This drug is the clearest example on this site of a medicine that is hard to find for reasons that have nothing to do with its evidence.
Search the main medical database for supaglutide and you get six records. They cover insulin cells from mice and people, blood sugar in diabetic mice, weight and fat in mice on a high-fat diet, how rats and monkeys process the drug, blood sugar in diabetic monkeys, and liver fat in monkeys with fatty liver disease. A reasonable person would think it has never been tested in people.
It is an approved medicine. China's drug regulator approved it in January 2025 as efsubaglutide alfa, to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It is also on China's national drug insurance list. The two key studies, called SUPER1 and SUPER2, are published in the journals Diabetologia and Nature Communications. They use the official name, not the name on the animal papers.
It is built differently from semaglutide. It is human GLP-1 joined to a piece of a human antibody. That is closer to how dulaglutide is built.
The diabetes evidence is strong for what it covers. The weight evidence is not. The weight-loss work has reached only an early study of 50 people. The larger weight study existed only as a published plan at the time of this review.
How does Supaglutide work?
It is human GLP-1, the gut hormone that signals a meal has arrived, joined to a piece of a human antibody. That antibody piece lets the body recycle the drug instead of clearing it. Dulaglutide lasts longer the same way. Semaglutide uses a different trick, a fatty chain that sticks to a blood protein. Once in the body it acts like normal GLP-1. It helps release insulin when blood sugar is high, holds back glucagon (a hormone that raises blood sugar), slows the stomach and cuts appetite. The published studies also report better function in the cells that make insulin. Because it is a large protein, the body may make antibodies against it. That is a bigger question here than for small drugs like semaglutide. A separate 40-week safety study in monkeys looked at this.
What have studies in people found about Supaglutide?
Two diabetes studies with more than 700 adults in total, each with a dummy-shot group. They led to approval in China in January 2025. The weight-loss work has reached only one early study of 50 people.
- SUPER1, in people newly diagnosed and on no diabetes drug yet: average blood sugar (HbA1c) fell 2.15 points on 3 mg weekly at 24 weeks. That was 1.68 points more than the dummy-shot group. 68 percent got below 7.0 percent.
- SUPER2, added to metformin: average blood sugar fell 1.80 points, against 0.74 on the dummy shot, at 24 weeks. Then everyone knowingly took the drug for 28 more weeks.
- Weight loss in the diabetes studies was small. It was 3.14 percent on the 3 mg dose in SUPER1, which is the approved dose.
- LIGHT 1, an early weight-loss study in 50 people: weight fell 7.16 percent, against 0.86 percent on the dummy shot. 2.00 kg of the loss was lean tissue such as muscle, not fat.
- Other early studies in people are published separately. They cover rising doses, how the body handles the drug, how dose links to effect, how it mixes with metformin and digoxin, and a shot every two weeks.
What this does not tell you: One company ran every human study, all in China. Its founder is the lead author on both key studies. There is no heart attack and stroke study. There is no study outside China. It has never been tested side by side against semaglutide, tirzepatide or any other drug on the market. The weight-loss claim rests on 50 people for four weeks at the target dose. And the longest safety test beyond the studies is a 40-week study in monkeys, not years of data in people.
The state of the research
The gap between this drug's evidence and how few people have heard of it is the point of this page.
By the standard this site uses for Western drugs, the diabetes case is solid. There are two studies with a dummy-shot group where nobody knew who got what. One was in people on no other drug, and one in people already on metformin. Both are published in properly reviewed journals. Both show blood sugar drops in the range you would expect from a weekly GLP-1 shot. That is more and better human evidence than most drugs on this site have.
It is also invisible in English. The reason is the names. The animal work says supaglutide. The human studies say efsubaglutide alfa. The Chinese market uses another name again. Nothing links them in a search.
So the honest reading is split. For type 2 diabetes, this is an approved drug with published key studies. For weight loss, it is one early study of 50 people plus a published plan for a bigger one. Calling it a weight-loss drug is ahead of the data.
A note on what Chinese approval does and does not tell you. China's drug regulator requires studies in Chinese patients. The key studies behind these approvals are real, carefully run studies with a dummy-shot group. They are published in mainstream medical journals, including Diabetologia, Nature Communications, Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism and the Lancet regional journal. What is usually missing, compared with the Western drugs, is a big study of heart attacks and strokes. Semaglutide and liraglutide have heart data in tens of thousands of patients followed for years. None of the drugs on this page does. So the fair statement is this. These drugs lower blood sugar and body weight in Chinese adults over months. They have not been shown to prevent heart attacks. That gap is real. It is a separate question from whether a Western reader has heard of the drug.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
190people, across 2 studies in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| SUPER1, Diabetologia 2026 | 140 | 74% |
| Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 2026 | 50 | 26% |
One study holds 74% of these people, so the total rests more on one study than its size suggests. 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
3 of 5 sources here are studies in people. The rest are not.
- Study in people · done in people360%
- Animal study · done in animals240%
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
The studies cover 3 different years, 2021 to 2026, counted from the list of sources on this page.
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
- Biologic
- Molecule weight
- A GLP-1 and immunoglobulin Fc fusion protein, substantially larger than an acylated peptide analogue. No exact mass is asserted here.
- Half-life
- Stated in words, not a numbersee the exact wording below
- Chain length
- None on file
Half-life as stated on file: Long enough for once weekly dosing, and a biweekly schedule has been tested in a randomised trial. In rhesus monkeys the subcutaneous half-life was reported at about forty hours; no human figure is asserted here.
No amino acid sequence is on file for Supaglutide, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2026Efficacy and safety of efsubaglutide alfa in individuals with type 2 diabetes (SUPER1): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase IIb/III trial
It lowered blood sugar well in newly diagnosed diabetes, and barely touched weight at the lower dose. A first stage split 140 people across three doses and a dummy. A second stage split 297 more to 1 mg, 3 mg or a dummy. At week 24 average blood sugar fell 1.73 points on 1 mg and 2.15 on 3 mg, ahead of the dummy by 1.26 and 1.68. Weight fell 0.97 and 3.14 percent, and only the higher dose beat the dummy. The sponsoring company's founder wrote the paper.
Two-stage seamless adaptive trial in drug-naive adults with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Phase 2b randomised 140 participants across 1, 2 and 3 mg weekly and placebo; phase 3 randomised a further 297 to 1 mg, 3 mg or placebo. At week 24 glycated haemoglobin fell 1.73 percentage points on 1 mg and 2.15 on 3 mg, with treatment differences against placebo of 1.26 and 1.68 percentage points. 56 percent and 68 percent reached a glycated haemoglobin below 7.0 percent. Body weight fell 0.97 percent on 1 mg and 3.14 percent on 3 mg, and only the 3 mg weight difference against placebo was significant. Sponsored by Innogen Pharmaceutical; the corresponding author is the company's founder.
- Study in people2026Efsubaglutide alfa added to metformin improves glycaemia with beta-cell functional responses in type 2 diabetes: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-stage adaptive phase 2b/3 trial (SUPER 2)
Added on top of metformin, it lowered blood sugar substantially. A first stage gave 1 mg, 3 mg or a dummy for 12 weeks, and average blood sugar fell 1.10 and 1.43 points. A second stage gave new participants 3 mg or a dummy for 24 weeks, then 28 more weeks in which everyone knowingly took the drug. Average blood sugar fell 1.80 points against 0.74 on the dummy. Side effects were mostly mild or moderate stomach complaints. Same company sponsor and same founder as the earlier trial.
The add-on to metformin trial. Phase 2b randomised to 1 mg, 3 mg or placebo for 12 weeks, at which point glycated haemoglobin had fallen 1.10 and 1.43 percentage points. Phase 3 randomised new participants to 3 mg or placebo for 24 weeks of double-blind treatment followed by a 28 week open-label extension; glycated haemoglobin fell 1.80 percentage points against 0.74 on placebo, an estimated treatment difference of 1.06 points. Adverse events were predominantly mild to moderate gastrointestinal events. Same sponsor and same founder as SUPER1.
- Study in people2026Efficacy, tolerability, and safety of Efsubaglutide Alfa in participants with obesity or overweight (LIGHT 1): A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose phase 2a trial
The entire published obesity record for this drug is fifty people. They were spread across five doses and a dummy, starting at an average weight of 92.9 kg. Weight fell 7.16 percent against 0.86 percent on the dummy, and 82.5 percent of treated people lost at least a twentieth of their body weight, against nobody on the dummy. Fat mass fell 4.47 kg. Muscle fell too, by 2.00 kg. This was a dose-ranging study, not an obesity trial, and the drug is not approved for weight management.
The entire published obesity efficacy record: 50 participants across five dose cohorts and placebo, mean baseline weight 92.9 kg. Mean weight reduction was 7.16 percent against 0.86 percent on placebo, and 82.5 percent of treated participants lost at least 5 percent against none on placebo. Fat mass fell 4.47 kg and lean mass also fell 2.00 kg. This is a 50 person dose-ranging study, not an obesity efficacy trial, and the compound is not approved for weight management.
- Animal study2021Novel GLP-1 analog supaglutide improves glucose homeostasis in diabetic monkeys
In diabetic monkeys. One shot lowered blood sugar for a while, more at higher doses. Four weeks of weekly shots lowered fasting blood sugar. The monkeys ate less and lost weight, and they handled sugar better. This study is filed under the old name. It is one reason a search for supaglutide makes an approved drug look untested.
Diabetic rhesus monkeys. A single subcutaneous injection transiently reduced blood glucose dose-dependently; over four weeks of weekly dosing fasting and random glucose fell dose-dependently with declining plasma fructosamine, body weight decreased alongside reduced food intake, glucose tolerance improved and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion increased. A monkey study, indexed under the development name, and one of the reasons a search on supaglutide makes an approved medicine look preclinical.
- Animal study2024Supaglutide alleviates hepatic steatosis in monkeys with spontaneous MASH
In monkeys. Fifteen rhesus monkeys with fatty liver disease got weekly shots of the drug or a dummy shot for three months. Liver fat on a scan fell 40 percent against the dummy group. Biopsies showed less fat, and scarring did not get worse. Nobody has tested this on the liver in people.
Fifteen rhesus monkeys with biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, given weekly subcutaneous supaglutide at 50 or 150 micrograms per kg or placebo for three months. Liver fat measured by MRI proton density fat fraction fell 40 percent from baseline against placebo, and histological steatosis improved without worsening of fibrosis on ultrasound-guided biopsy. Fifteen monkeys, three months, no human liver endpoint has been tested.
Common questions
Has Supaglutide been tested in people?
Yes. 190 people given it across 3 completed trials cited here, 0 of which found nothing. Approved in China in January 2025 for type 2 diabetes. That approval rests on two studies in more than 700 adults. Almost everything you find under the name supaglutide is monkey and mouse work. That is because the human studies are listed under its official name, efsubaglutide alfa.
What is the Supaglutide dosage?
No human dose established. Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose. 3 completed trials, 190 people given it
Is Supaglutide FDA-approved?
Not approved in the United States. China's drug regulator, the National Medical Products Administration, approved it in January 2025 to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. There it is called efsubaglutide alfa, and it is on China's national list of drugs covered by public health insurance. Not approved for weight loss anywhere.
Is supaglutide approved?
Yes, in China. China's drug regulator approved it as efsubaglutide alfa in January 2025, to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. It is on China's national drug insurance list. It is not approved in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia or Canada. It is not approved for weight loss anywhere.
Why does it look like a preclinical compound when I search for it?
Because the six records under the name supaglutide in the main medical database are mouse, rat and monkey studies. The human studies are listed under its official name, efsubaglutide alfa. The same drug has two sets of papers that do not point to each other.
How much weight does it cause people to lose?
At the approved diabetes dose, 3 mg a week, body weight fell 3.14 percent over 24 weeks in the key study of people on no other diabetes drug. In a separate early study of 50 people with obesity, using 5 to 20 mg, weight fell 7.16 percent, against 0.86 percent on a dummy shot. 2.00 kg of that loss was lean tissue such as muscle, not fat. That study was for finding the dose. It does not prove the drug works for weight loss.
How is it different from semaglutide?
They are built differently. Semaglutide is a changed version of the hormone with a fatty chain that sticks to a blood protein, so it lasts longer. This drug is human GLP-1 joined to a piece of a human antibody. The body recycles that piece, which also makes it last longer. Dulaglutide uses the same approach. No study has compared the two drugs directly.
Does it help fatty liver?
There is a monkey study. In fifteen rhesus monkeys with fatty liver disease confirmed by biopsy, liver fat on a scan fell 40 percent over three months, and scarring did not get worse. A separate mouse study reports less scarring. It has never been tested on the liver in people.