Peptide finder

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Pick as many as you like. The number on each one is how many people it has been measured in across the whole archive. So you can see where the evidence is before you choose.

1. 01TirzepatidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 9 completed trials, 22,802 people given it.11 reported

   6,026 people4 studies

   • It worked, and the dose mattered. Around 2,500 adults with obesity and no diabetes took a weekly tirzepatide shot at one of three strengths, or a dummy shot, for about seventeen months. The dummy group finished about 3% lighter. On tirzepatide people finished 15%, 20% or 21% lighter, rising with the dose. Everyone...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2022 · 2,539 people

   • Tirzepatide beat semaglutide head to head on blood sugar. Nearly 1,900 people with type 2 diabetes took one drug or the other for about nine months. Every tirzepatide dose brought average blood sugar down further than semaglutide did. People on the strongest tirzepatide dose also lost up to 5.5 kg more, which is about...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2021 · 1,879 people

   • Tirzepatide produced large weight loss in people who also had type 2 diabetes. 938 adults took the weekly shot or a dummy one for 72 weeks, and nobody involved knew which. Those on the drug lost about 12.8% of their body weight at the middle dose and 14.7% at the top dose. The dummy group lost 3.2%. Around eight in...

     The Lancet, 2023 · 938 people

2. 02SemaglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 12 completed trials, 42,363 people given it.10 reported

   5,688 people5 studies

   • It worked, and this is the trial that made semaglutide famous for weight loss. Nearly two thousand adults without diabetes took a weekly shot of either semaglutide or a dummy version for about sixteen months. Nobody involved knew which. The semaglutide group finished roughly 15% lighter. The dummy group finished...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2021 · 1,961 people

   • A bigger weekly dose took off a little more weight, and cost more side effects. Just over 1,400 adults with obesity took semaglutide at 7.2 mg, semaglutide at the usual 2.4 mg, or a dummy injection for about seventeen months. The high dose group finished roughly 19% lighter, the usual dose roughly 16% lighter, and the...

     The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2025 · 1,407 people

   • Semaglutide still worked when people also had diabetes, though the weight loss was smaller. About 1,200 adults with extra weight and type 2 diabetes got the weekly shot or a dummy one, and nobody involved knew which. After 68 weeks the drug group had lost about a tenth of their body weight and the dummy group about...

     The Lancet, 2021 · 1,210 people

3. 03CagriSemaPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 4,954 people given it.8 reported

   4,623 people2 studies

   • This is about as strong as obesity evidence gets. 3,417 adults took the combination or a dummy injection for about 16 months. On the drug they lost roughly a fifth of their body weight. On the dummy they lost about 3 percent. In plain terms, someone starting at 220 pounds ended up around 45 pounds lighter. A second...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 3,417 people

   • The same combination worked in people who also had type 2 diabetes, and it worked less well. 1,206 patients took it or a dummy for about 16 months. They lost close to 14 percent of their weight, against roughly 3 percent on the dummy. Weight drugs reliably do less in diabetes than outside it, and this is that pattern...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 1,206 people

4. 04LiraglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 16,760 people given it.9 reported

   4,577 people2 studies

   • Liraglutide at the obesity dose took off real weight, though less than the headlines suggest. 3,731 adults without diabetes took the 3.0 mg shot or a dummy shot for just over a year. Average weight loss was 8.4 kg on the drug and 2.8 kg on the dummy, so about 5.6 kg of it came from the drug. Roughly two thirds lost at...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2015 · 3,731 people

   • Liraglutide took off a modest amount of weight in people with type 2 diabetes. 846 adults took the daily shot at one of two doses or a dummy one for 56 weeks. Nobody involved knew which. The higher dose took off 6.0% of body weight, the lower dose 4.7%, and the dummy 2.0%. A quarter of the people on the higher dose...

     JAMA, 2015 · 846 people

5. 05Retatrutide with cagrilintideBlendStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 4,557 people given it.6 reported

   3,755 people2 studies

   • A properly developed amylin and gut hormone pairing does exist. It has been tested in a very large study, and it is not this one. 3,417 people took cagrilintide with semaglutide, mixed by the maker, or a dummy shot. After about 16 months average weight was down 20.4%, against 3.0% on the dummy. That is a gap of more...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 3,417 people

   • Retatrutide caused very large weight loss, in an early, fairly small study. 338 adults with obesity took a weekly shot at one of four strengths, or a dummy shot, for 11 months. Average weight fell 8.7% at the lowest dose and 24.2% at the highest, against 2.1% on the dummy. At the top dose more than four in five lost...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2023 · 338 people

6. 06OrforglipronSmall moleculeStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 17,383 people given it.8 reported

   5,116 people5 studies

   • The large trial agreed with the small one, though the average loss came out lower. Over three thousand adults took the highest dose of the tablet or a dummy tablet for about seventeen months. Those on the drug lost 11.2 percent of their weight on average, against 2.1 percent on the dummy. More than a third lost at...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 3,127 people

   • A pill in this drug class produced real weight loss in people with both obesity and type 2 diabetes. 1,613 adults took one of three doses or a dummy pill for about seventeen months. Weight fell by roughly 5, 7 and 10 percent as the dose rose, against about 2 percent on the dummy. More people quit for side effects on...

     The Lancet, 2026 · 1,613 people

   • Switching from an injection to this pill held most of the lost weight off, though not all. 376 people who had lost weight on tirzepatide or semaglutide were sorted by chance onto orforglipron or a dummy pill for a year. Among those who had already levelled off, the pill held about three quarters of what they had lost....

     Nature Medicine, 2026 · 376 people

7. 07Semaglutide with cagrilintideBlendStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 4,219 people given it.6 reported

   3,417 people2 studies

   • This is the pair itself, tested as a pair, and it worked. 3,417 people were put by chance on cagrilintide with semaglutide, on either drug alone, or on a dummy shot. After about 16 months average weight was down 20.4% on the pair, against 3.0% on the dummy. That is a gap of more than 17 points. Stomach and bowel side...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 3,417 people

   • Semaglutide by itself takes off close to a seventh of body weight. That is the bar the pair has to clear. Adults took a weekly 2.4 mg shot or a dummy shot for about 16 months. Average weight fell 14.9% on the drug, against 2.4% on the dummy. This is semaglutide alone, not the pair. Any claim for adding cagrilintide...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2021 · number of people not given

8. 08MazdutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 2,372 people given it.7 reported

   2,052 people4 studies

   • Head to head against an established diabetes drug, mazdutide won on both blood sugar and weight. Seven hundred and thirty-one Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes were given mazdutide at one of two doses or dulaglutide for about seven months. Both mazdutide doses lowered average blood sugar more than dulaglutide did....

     Nature, 2026 · 731 people

   • Mazdutide caused substantial weight loss in a large late stage trial. Six hundred and ten Chinese adults carrying extra weight were given one of two doses or a dummy injection once a week for about eight months. The lower dose group lost 10.1% of body weight and the higher dose group 12.6%. The dummy group gained...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 610 people

   • Mazdutide produced large weight loss at its highest dose, and made a lot of people vomit. 461 adults at 27 Chinese hospitals got the weekly shot or a dummy one for 60 weeks, two to one. Nobody involved knew which. The drug group lost 16.65% of their body weight against 1.50% on the dummy, and 84.3% lost at least a...

     JAMA, 2026 · 461 people

9. 09CagrilintidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 5,752 people given it.7 reported

   2,004 people3 studies

   • In a large late-stage trial the pair took off substantial weight and pulled most people's blood sugar into range. 1,206 adults with extra weight and type 2 diabetes took CagriSema or a dummy injection for about sixteen months. Body weight fell 13.7% on the drug and 3.4% on the dummy. Nearly three quarters got their...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 1,206 people

   • Cagrilintide on its own took off weight, and its top dose edged out an approved drug. 706 adults carrying extra weight took cagrilintide at one of several doses, a dummy injection, or liraglutide, for six months. Weight fell between 6.0% and 10.8% depending on dose, against 3.0% on the dummy. At 4.5 mg it beat...

     The Lancet, 2021 · 706 people

   • Adding cagrilintide to semaglutide roughly doubled weight loss in a small early trial. 92 adults with type 2 diabetes took the pair, or semaglutide alone, or cagrilintide alone, for eight months. The pair took off 15.6% of body weight. Semaglutide alone took off 5.1% and cagrilintide alone 8.1%. This was an early...

     The Lancet, 2023 · 92 people

10. 10SurvodutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 2,034 people given it.7 reported

    1,741 people4 studies

    • Survodutide produced substantial weight loss in a large trial built to modern standards. It gave 725 adults with obesity and no diabetes a weekly injection at one of two doses, or a dummy injection, for about eighteen months. People on the drug lost around an eighth of their body weight. People on the dummy injection...

      New England Journal of Medicine, 2026 · 725 people

    • Against semaglutide, survodutide matched it on blood sugar, beat it on weight, and cost more in side effects. The trial put 413 people with type 2 diabetes on one of six survodutide doses, on semaglutide, or on a dummy injection for four months. Average blood sugar fell by about the same amount on both drugs. Weight...

      Diabetologia, 2024 · 413 people

    • Survodutide produced large weight loss in people without diabetes. Three hundred and eighty-seven adults were treated for about eleven months, at several doses or with a dummy injection. At the highest dose people lost about 14.9% of their body weight. On the dummy they lost 2.8%. For someone of 100 kg that is roughly...

      The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2024 · 387 people

11. 11RetatrutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,345 people given it.8 reported

    1,156 people3 studies

    • This is the first full late-stage report for retatrutide, and it holds up. 537 people with type 2 diabetes not controlled by diet and exercise took the drug or a dummy shot for 40 weeks. Nobody involved knew which. Average blood sugar over three months fell between 1.69 and 1.94 points across the doses, against 0.81...

      The Lancet, 2026 · 537 people

    • It worked, and this is still an early trial. 338 adults with obesity took retatrutide or a dummy injection every week for about eleven months. The dummy group finished about 2% lighter. On the strongest dose people finished about 24% lighter, with smaller losses on smaller doses. This was a middle stage trial, built...

      New England Journal of Medicine, 2023 · 338 people

    • Retatrutide lowered blood sugar and weight more than an older drug, in a mid-stage trial. 281 people with type 2 diabetes were split by chance between retatrutide, dulaglutide and a dummy shot, and nobody involved knew which. At the top dose, average blood sugar over three months fell about 2 points, against almost...

      The Lancet, 2023 · 281 people

12. 12CotadutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 1,221 people given it.

    899 people3 studies1 found nothing

    • Cotadutide lowered blood sugar and weight in people with diabetes, and it beat liraglutide on weight at the top dose. 834 adults on metformin were split by chance across three doses, a dummy, or liraglutide, for about a year. Blood sugar and weight both fell against the dummy. At the highest dose, liver enzymes and...

      Diabetes Care, 2021 · 834 people

    • An early trial showed cotadutide blunts the blood sugar spike after a meal, and takes off some weight. 65 adults with diabetes and extra weight took it daily for seven weeks, or a dummy. After meals, blood sugar rose about a fifth less, while it climbed on the dummy. Weight fell about three and a half percent, against...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2020 · 65 people

    • found nothingPeople lost weight on cotadutide because they ate less, not because they burned more. This small study followed 12 people on the drug and 7 on a dummy for six weeks. The drug group lost four percent of their body weight against one and a half percent on the dummy. They ate far less food. Energy burned, measured...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2024 · number of people not given

13. 13PramlintidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 684 people given it.

    684 people2 studies

    • Pramlintide improved blood sugar control in type 1 diabetes, and people lost weight instead of gaining it. Four hundred and eighty patients were treated alongside their insulin for a year. At three months, average blood sugar had fallen by 0.67 percentage points on the drug and 0.16 on a dummy injection. Severe low...

      Diabetes Care, 2002 · 480 people

    • In people with obesity but no diabetes, pramlintide produced a small amount of weight loss. Two hundred and four of them took it or a dummy injection for four months, with the dose built up slowly. The drug group ended 3.6 kg lighter than the dummy group, about 3.7% of body weight. That is far less than newer weight...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2007 · 204 people

14. 14EcnoglutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 664 people given it.1 reported

    664 people2 studies

    • It worked, in a full sized trial. 664 Chinese adults lost between 9 and 13 percent of their body weight over 40 weeks, depending on the dose, while the dummy group lost essentially nothing. Nearly nine in ten on the top dose lost at least 5 percent. One thing to hold in mind. Everyone in this trial was Chinese, so...

      The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2025 · 664 people

    • China's regulator approved it for weight management in March 2026. The company reports an average weight loss of about 15 percent after 48 weeks on the top dose, nearly all of it over and above what the dummy group lost. An approval is a real milestone. It is also specific to one country, and it is not the same thing...

      Sciwind Biosciences press release, 2026 · number of people not given

15. 15BimagrumabBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 507 people given it.1 reported

    507 people1 study

    • Added to semaglutide, it took off more weight than semaglutide managed alone. 507 adults were treated for nearly a year. The high dose combination lost about 17.8 kg, semaglutide on its own about 14.2 kg, the muscle drug on its own about 9.3 kg, and the dummy group about 3.3 kg. In pounds that is roughly 39, 31, 20...

      Nature Medicine, 2026 · 507 people

16. 16NNC0480-0389PeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 500 people given it.2 reported

    500 people1 study

    • This trial has finished, and the registry now carries its numbers. Novo Nordisk enrolled 500 people with type 2 diabetes and completed it in March 2023. Weight fell 9.8 kg on semaglutide with a dummy added, and between 8.9 and 12.0 kg across the doses with the GIP drug on top. The GIP drug by itself gave 4.7 kg, and a...

      ClinicalTrials.gov, 2026 · 500 people

17. 17PetrelintidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 493 people given it.2 reported

    493 people2 studies

    • It works, and it works less well than the drugs it is chasing. 493 people took part, and the company reports up to about 11 percent average weight loss after 42 weeks, against under 2 percent on a dummy. This is a press release, so no outside reviewer has been through the detail yet. A larger trial is meant to start...

      Zealand Pharma press release, 2026 · 493 people

    • The earliest human studies went smoothly and showed weight coming off. Side effects were mostly mild stomach trouble. The purpose of trials at this stage is to find out whether people can take a drug at all, and at what dose. This one passed that test, which is why it went forward. It is not evidence that the drug...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2026 · number of people not given

18. 18BeinaglutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 443 people given it.

    741 people2 studies

    • Three shots a day for 16 weeks took off a modest amount of weight, and half the people felt sick. 427 Chinese adults without diabetes were split by chance to 0.2 mg under the skin three times daily or a dummy, and nobody knew which. Weight fell 6.0 percent against 2.4 percent on the dummy. Nausea hit 49.3 percent...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2024 · 427 people

    • Nobody was given anything here. Researchers looked back at the records of 314 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. After three months, the records showed weight down 10.05 kg and average blood sugar down 2.87 points. Those numbers are far bigger than the careful study with a dummy-shot group found. Looking back only...

      Obesity Science and Practice, 2019 · 314 people

19. 19BofanglutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 750 people given it.4 reported

    386 people2 studies

    • It took off serious weight in overweight Chinese adults, and almost everyone had side effects. 340 adults averaging 95.6 kg were split by chance across five doses or a dummy, and nobody knew which. Over 30 weeks weight fell between 9.75 and 16.69 percent on the drug, against 1.15 percent on the dummy. Side effects hit...

      Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2026 · 340 people

    • This was a small early study to find the right dose. It does not tell you how well the drug works. Sixty people signed up and 46 finished. In the second part, weight fell 17.8 percent on weekly shots and 12.8 percent on shots every two weeks, against 0.7 percent on a dummy shot. The first part moved the same way, by...

      Cell Reports Medicine, 2026 · 46 people

20. 20ExenatidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 15,088 people given it.1 reported

    336 people1 study

    • Exenatide lowered blood sugar and took off a little weight in people already on metformin. 336 patients at 82 US clinics added exenatide or a dummy injection twice a day for seven months. Average blood sugar over three months fell about three quarters of a point on the higher dose and four tenths on the lower one. On...

      Diabetes Care, 2005 · 336 people

21. 21VisepegenatidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 572 people given it.

    273 people1 study

    • It lowered blood sugar in people newly treated for diabetes, and the weight number needs care. 273 adults who had never been treated were split evenly by chance to 150 micrograms weekly or a dummy for 24 weeks. Average blood sugar fell 1.36 points against 0.63. 50.4 percent got below 7.0 percent against 14.2 percent....

      The Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific, 2024 · 273 people

22. 22HRS-7535Small moleculeModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 235 people given it.2 reported

    235 people2 studies

    • The pill worked in its first real test in people with obesity. 235 adults in China took one of four doses or a dummy pill. After half a year the top dose took off about 9 percent of body weight, against about 2.5 percent on the dummy. Nausea and other stomach upsets were the most common complaint and were mostly mild....

      Nature Communications, 2026 · 235 people

    • Two large final-stage trials both came out positive. Over about a year, people taking the daily pill lost roughly 11% of their body weight, against a little over 2% on a dummy pill. In the separate diabetes trial, average blood sugar over three months fell by 1.5 to 1.7 percentage points. Both results arrived as a...

      Kailera press release, 2026 · number of people not given

23. 23ResveratrolSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 14 completed trials, 403 people given it.7 reported

    192 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe longest and largest diabetes trial of resveratrol found nothing that counted. 192 patients took 40 mg, 500 mg or a dummy pill every day for six months. An inflammation marker fell further on resveratrol, but not by enough to call real. Weight, waist, blood pressure, blood sugar, insulin and a string of other...

      Pharmacological Research, 2016 · 192 people

24. 24SupaglutideBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 190 people given it.

    190 people2 studies

    • 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...

      Diabetologia, 2026 · 140 people

    • 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...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2026 · 50 people

1. 01PramlintidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 684 people given it.

   204 people1 study

   • In people with obesity but no diabetes, pramlintide produced a small amount of weight loss. Two hundred and four of them took it or a dummy injection for four months, with the dose built up slowly. The drug group ended 3.6 kg lighter than the dummy group, about 3.7% of body weight. That is far less than newer weight...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2007 · 204 people

2. 02GDF15BiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 313 people given it.3 reported

   187 people2 studies

   • Blocking GDF15 put weight back on people with cancer who were wasting away. 187 patients with cancer wasting and high GDF15 were put into four groups. Three got the antibody at rising doses. One got a dummy shot. Shots came every four weeks, three times. By twelve weeks the drug groups had gained about 1.2 to 2.8...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2024 · 187 people

   • The clearest picture of what GDF15 does in people comes from pregnancy. Most of the hormone in a pregnant woman's blood comes from the baby and the placenta, traced using a naturally tagged version of it. Women whose genes gave them low GDF15 before pregnancy were more likely to suffer severe pregnancy sickness. Women...

     Nature, 2024 · number of people not given

3. 03DapiglutidePeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 54 people given it.

   54 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingThis early weight loss trial missed its target. 54 adults with obesity in Denmark were split by chance between two doses of dapiglutide and a dummy injection, weekly for three months. Nobody was asked to change their diet or exercise. The higher dose took off about two percent more body weight than the dummy, which is...

     EClinicalMedicine, 2026 · 54 people

4. 04GhrelinPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 27 people given it.1 reported

   27 people2 studies

   • Put straight into the blood, the hormone set off a big release of growth hormone and people coped with it. 18 men got one of two doses or a dummy, and nobody involved knew which. Both doses drove growth hormone up strongly. The body cleared half of the active hormone in about 9 to 13 minutes, which is very fast....

     European Journal of Endocrinology, 2004 · 18 people

   • Giving people ghrelin made them hungry, and they ate more. Nine healthy volunteers got the hormone through a drip, then sat down to a buffet. They ate roughly a quarter more food than they otherwise would. This was the first time a hormone circulating in the blood had been shown to drive eating in people. Nine is a...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2001 · 9 people

5. 05ForskolinSupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 53 people given it.5 reported

   23 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingThe same supplement was tested in women and it did not work. 23 mildly overweight women took a 10 percent Coleus forskohlii extract twice a day or a dummy for 12 weeks, seven on the extract. Fat mass, lean mass and body fat percentage came out the same in both groups. Slight leanings toward less weight gain were too...

     Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2005 · 23 people

6. 06OxyntomodulinPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.

   13 people3 studies1 found nothing

   • found nothingGiven the hormone, people ate less at the next meal. 13 healthy volunteers had sessions on oxyntomodulin and on a dummy drip, and nobody knew which was which. Food eaten at a buffet fell by about a fifth, and food over the next 12 hours fell by about a tenth. Their hunger hormone went down. Nobody felt sick and food...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2003 · 13 people

   • Four weeks of shots before meals took weight off. People with extra weight gave themselves oxyntomodulin three times a day before eating, or a dummy shot. They lost 2.3 kg, against 0.5 kg on the dummy, roughly 0.45 kg a week. How much they ate at a test meal fell by a quarter at the start and by a third by the end....

     Diabetes, 2005 · number of people not given

   • People ate less, and they did not burn more. 15 healthy young men got oxyntomodulin, GLP-1, glucagon, the last two together, or salt water before a meal, on separate days. Every hormone cut how much they ate, by about the same amount. Giving GLP-1 and glucagon together added nothing. Oxygen use, which is how energy...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2015 · number of people not given

7. 07GHRP-2PeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 102 people given it.7 reported

   17 people2 studies1 found nothing

   • found nothingOral GHRP-2 made children hungrier and did not change their build. Ten children with a growth hormone deficiency swallowed it twice a day for a year. Seven of the ten reported a clear rise in appetite in the first six months. Their weight for height barely moved across the year, and the authors report that change as...

     Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2003 · 10 people

   • GHRP-2 makes people eat more. Seven lean men were given it as a drip and then offered food freely. They ate about a third more than they otherwise would, and growth hormone rose sharply at the same time. That appetite push is a real effect of the drug, not a side note. Seven men is a very small group, and they were...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005 · 7 people

8. 08Melanotan II with PT-141BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 10 people given it.7 reported

   10 people1 study

   • Melanotan II caused erections in most of a very small group of men. Ten men whose erection trouble had no physical cause each took the peptide and a dummy shot on separate days. Nobody knew which was which on the day. Eight of the ten got a clear erection on the drug. A monitor recorded firmness above four fifths of...

     Journal of Urology, 1998 · 10 people

9. 09TERN-601Small moleculeLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 3 people given it.3 reported

   3 people1 study

   • TERN-601 caused weight loss, then ended its own program with liver damage. There were two studies, one for 28 days and one for 12 weeks, both against a dummy pill. In the first, every dose led to more weight loss than the dummy pill, with less hunger and slower stomach emptying. In the second, doses of 500 mg and up...

     Obesity, 2026 · 3 people

10. 10LeptinBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 844 people given it.5 reported

    3 people1 study

    • Give leptin to the rare children who have none and it transforms them. Three children born unable to make leptin were injected daily for up to four years. Appetite fell, fat mass fell, insulin and blood fats came back towards normal, and puberty arrived at the right age. Immune cells that had been depleted recovered...

      Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2002 · 3 people

11. 11MibavademabBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 1 person given it.

    1 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe antibody only worked in people who were already short of leptin. In an early study in people, compared with a dummy shot, it was well tolerated. In the authors' words, it reduced body weight over twelve weeks in people with low leptin in the blood, and had no effect on weight in people whose leptin was higher. One...

      Science Translational Medicine, 2023 · 1 people

12. 12Peptide YYPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 12 people given it.3 reported

    number of people not given2 studies1 found nothing

    • Two gut hormones together cut eating more than either one alone. Twelve overweight or obese volunteers each tried the combination, the single hormones and a dummy infusion, in turn, without knowing which. At a test meal during the combined infusion they ate about 43% less than on salt water, and less than on either...

      Diabetes, 2010 · number of people not given

    • found nothingCopying the hormone mix that follows stomach bypass surgery cut food intake by about a third. Obese volunteers wore a pump under the skin for about ten and a half hours, delivering three gut hormones at post-surgery levels, or a dummy infusion. Each person tried both, in turn, and did not know which was running. They...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2017 · number of people not given

13. 13GLP-1PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 8 people given it.1 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • The hormone your own gut makes does what the drugs built from it do, only briefly. Adults with obesity injected native GLP-1 before meals for five days, and also spent a period on a dummy, with nobody knowing which. Food eaten at each meal fell by about 15 percent and they lost 0.55 kg. Food leaving the stomach more...

      British Journal of Nutrition, 2004 · number of people not given

14. 14TesofensineSmall moleculeLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.8 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • The weight came off because people ate less, not because the drug burned anything. This was a smaller study run inside the main trial, looking at hunger. People taking tesofensine reported weaker appetite and took in less food. That is the mechanism behind the weight loss reported in the main result. Appetite was...

      Obesity, 2012 · number of people not given

15. 15BofanglutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 750 people given it.4 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • This study measured how the drug behaves in blood, not whether it helps anyone. Healthy American and Chinese adults took steadily rising doses. The body took about seven days to clear half of it in both groups, and the amount reaching the blood was near identical, so no difference between the two populations showed...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025 · number of people not given

16. 16CotadutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 1,221 people given it.

    number of people not given1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingPeople lost weight on cotadutide because they ate less, not because they burned more. This small study followed 12 people on the drug and 7 on a dummy for six weeks. The drug group lost four percent of their body weight against one and a half percent on the dummy. They ate far less food. Energy burned, measured...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2024 · number of people not given

17. 17BGM0504PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 64 people given it.

    40 people1 study

    • Healthy volunteers, and the weight figures belong to healthy volunteers. 40 healthy Chinese people took a single 2.5 mg dose, then weekly doses rising to 5, 10 and 15 mg. The amount in the blood rose in step with the dose across that range. Weight fell 3.24, 6.26, 7.09 and 8.30 percent at the four doses. Vomiting,...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2025 · 40 people

18. 18Sermorelin / GHRPBlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 4 completed trials, 56 people given it.9 reported

    7 people1 study

    • The hunger is not a rumour, it was measured. Seven lean men given this peptide ate about a third more when left to help themselves, alongside a large rise in growth hormone. Seven men is a very small study and one free meal is easy to sway. Even so, appetite is the effect people report most and the one that most often...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005 · 7 people

19. 19SetmelanotidePeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 38 people given it.4 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • In rare genetic forms of obesity most patients lost serious weight, and there was nobody to compare them against. After about a year, 8 of 10 people with one gene fault and 5 of 11 with the other had lost at least a tenth of their body weight. Reported hunger fell by roughly a third in one group and nearly half in the...

      The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2020 · number of people not given

20. 20ARD-101Small moleculeLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 20 people given it.3 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • ARD-101 made people less hungry. The headline weight loss belongs to mice. Adults with obesity took 200 mg twice a day for 28 days, or a dummy pill. They lost 0.8 kg more than the dummy group by day 28, and 1.3 kg by the end. They also reported less hunger and fewer food cravings. The bigger weight loss in the paper...

      Molecular Metabolism, 2026 · number of people not given

21. 21CJC-1295 with GHRP-2BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, none stating how many people.8 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • GHRP-2 makes healthy men hungrier. That is the drug itself at work, not a side story. It works on the same switch as the hunger hormone, and does the same job. That matters because the hunger comes with the product. Which GHRP a seller puts in the vial decides whether you spend the cycle fighting hunger. This was...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005 · number of people not given

22. 22CJC-1295 with ipamorelin and GHRP-2BlendModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 117 people given it.5 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • GHRP-2 makes healthy men eat more, and that matters here more than anywhere. Ipamorelin was picked from this drug family because it lifts growth hormone without dragging hunger along. Put GHRP-2 in the same vial and the hunger comes right back. The one thing the ipamorelin in this blend was chosen for is cancelled by...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005 · number of people not given

23. 23Sermorelin with GHRP-2 and GHRP-6BlendLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 9 people given it.6 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • GHRP-2 makes healthy men eat more, the same way the hunger hormone ghrelin does. This vial holds two peptides that press that same hunger switch. Their effects there add up. They do not cancel out. So the hunger is not a quirk of one ingredient that the other might balance. It is the expected result of stacking two...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2005 · number of people not given

24. 24IGF-1 LR3PeptidePreliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 1 human study where nobody was given it.8 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In pigs. It went the wrong way. Four days of IGF-1 LR3 lowered the pigs' weight gain, how much they ate, their growth hormone and their own IGF-1.

      Journal of Endocrinology, 1997 · number of people not given

1. 01Tesamorelin / IpamorelinBlendStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,507 people given it.9 reported

   1,370 people3 studies1 found nothing

   • found nothingThe largest pile of evidence on either half of this blend, and it is for tesamorelin alone. Eight hundred and six patients were pooled from the two main trials. The deep fat around the organs fell on the drug and rose slightly on the dummy, a difference of about 15 percent. Fat just under the skin did not change, so...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2010 · 806 people

   • Tesamorelin on its own shrank the deep fat around the organs in people with HIV. Four hundred and twelve patients took a 2 mg shot daily for six months, or a dummy shot. That fat fell by about 15 percent on the drug while it rose 5 percent on the dummy, and blood fats improved too. No ipamorelin was given. The dose...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2007 · 412 people

   • A low dose of tesamorelin nudged thinking in the right direction in older adults. A hundred and fifty two people aged 55 to 87 took it or a dummy shot for five months, and sixty six of them already had mild memory trouble. The gain showed up mainly in planning and mental flexibility. IGF-1 more than doubled while...

     Archives of Neurology, 2012 · 152 people

2. 02TirzepatidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 9 completed trials, 22,802 people given it.11 reported

   751 people1 study

   • Tirzepatide beat semaglutide head to head, in a trial run by the company that sells tirzepatide. 751 adults with obesity and no diabetes took one drug or the other for 72 weeks. Everyone knew which they were getting. Tirzepatide took off 20.2% of body weight and semaglutide 13.7%. Waists shrank 18.4 cm against 13.0...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 751 people

3. 03TesamorelinPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 1,729 people given it.10 reported

   710 people5 studies1 found nothing

   • It worked on the deep fat around the organs, in the group it was designed for. 412 people with HIV who had gained fat around the middle took a daily tesamorelin injection or a dummy injection for six months. Nobody involved knew which. Deep belly fat fell about 15% on tesamorelin. In the dummy group it rose about 5%....

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2007 · 412 people

   • The fat stayed off while people kept injecting, and came back when they stopped. 273 people on tesamorelin and 137 on the dummy shot were reassigned at the halfway mark and followed to a year. Deep belly fat around the organs stayed about 18% down over the full year, and blood triglycerides stayed 51 mg/dL lower. Once...

     AIDS, 2008 · 137 people

   • found nothingTesamorelin did not improve thinking or memory, and this trial was too small to settle the question. 73 people with HIV and belly fat were assigned to the drug or to usual care for six months. Everybody knew who was getting it. Scores on the thinking tests came out the same in both groups. Waists did shrink 2.7 cm...

     Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2025 · 73 people

4. 04RetatrutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,345 people given it.8 reported

   189 people1 study

   • Most of the weight lost was fat, on scans from a small slice of a larger trial. 189 people joined the scan study and only 103 had usable scans at both the start and week 36. Fat mass fell 26.1% and 23.2% at the two higher doses, against 4.5% on the dummy shot. The share of the loss that was muscle looked like what...

     The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2025 · 189 people

5. 05SomatropinBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 84 people given it.9 reported

   84 people2 studies1 found nothing

   • Take growth hormone away from adults who need it and most things get worse. 60 adults with a pituitary shortage, treated for about ten years, were switched onto a dummy for four months. Their IGF-1 fell sharply. Two aspects of quality of life declined. Waists grew, deep belly fat rose, and cholesterol and an...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2012 · 60 people

   • found nothingGrowth hormone changed what the body was made of without changing what the scales said. Twenty four adults whose bodies made too little growth hormone took it for six months, against others given a dummy version. They gained about 5.5 kg of muscle and lost about 5.7 kg of fat. Total weight barely moved, because the...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 1989 · 24 people

6. 06ForskolinSupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 53 people given it.5 reported

   53 people2 studies1 found nothing

   • Body fat fell and testosterone rose, in thirty overweight men. The men all had a body mass index of 26 or above and took 250 mg of a 10 percent forskolin extract twice a day, or a dummy, decided by chance, for 12 weeks. Scans showed body fat percentage and fat mass dropped against the dummy group. Bone mass changed...

     Obesity Research, 2005 · 30 people

   • found nothingThe same supplement was tested in women and it did not work. 23 mildly overweight women took a 10 percent Coleus forskohlii extract twice a day or a dummy for 12 weeks, seven on the extract. Fat mass, lean mass and body fat percentage came out the same in both groups. Slight leanings toward less weight gain were too...

     Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2005 · 23 people

7. 07SupaglutideBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 190 people given it.

   50 people1 study

   • 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...

     Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2026 · 50 people

8. 08HexarelinPeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 105 people given it.7 reported

   21 people1 study

   • Body fat blunts the response, so the heavier you are the less hexarelin does. 21 healthy elderly people each got a single shot under the skin. The more fat someone carried, the lower their growth hormone peak, and fat mass predicted the response better than anything else measured. Being male or female made no...

     Clinical Endocrinology, 1998 · 21 people

9. 09TUDCASupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 54 people given it.7 reported

   20 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingFour weeks of TUDCA improved insulin sensitivity in liver and muscle, and not in fat. 20 obese adults took 1,750 mg a day or a dummy for four weeks, with detailed infusion tests and samples from muscle and fat. Liver and muscle insulin sensitivity rose by roughly 30 percent while the dummy group did not change. The...

     Diabetes, 2010 · 20 people

10. 10Ursolic acidSupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 16 people given it.6 reported

    16 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe entire human record for ursolic acid is sixteen men. 16 healthy men averaging 29 did eight weeks of weight training, seven on training alone and nine also taking ursolic acid capsules three times a day. Body fat percentage fell in the supplemented group. Body weight, body mass index, muscle mass, blood sugar and...

      Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 2014 · 16 people

11. 11ClenbuterolSmall moleculeLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 11 people given it.5 reported

    11 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingClenbuterol does build muscle in people, and it wrecks your fitness while it does. 11 healthy young men took the drug for two weeks and a dummy for two weeks, in turn, with three weeks between. Lean mass rose by just under a kilogram. Fat mass did not move at all, which matters because fat loss is why most people buy...

      The Journal of Physiology, 2025 · 11 people

12. 12LeptinBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 844 people given it.5 reported

    3 people1 study

    • Give leptin to the rare children who have none and it transforms them. Three children born unable to make leptin were injected daily for up to four years. Appetite fell, fat mass fell, insulin and blood fats came back towards normal, and puberty arrived at the right age. Immune cells that had been depleted recovered...

      Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2002 · 3 people

13. 13ResveratrolSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 14 completed trials, 403 people given it.7 reported

    number of people not given2 studies2 found nothing

    • found nothingRun again at a high dose, the same idea produced nothing. Twenty-four obese but otherwise healthy men took high-dose resveratrol or a dummy pill for four weeks. The main measure was how well their bodies answered insulin, using the most exacting test there is. It drifted slightly worse in both groups. Blood pressure,...

      Diabetes, 2013 · number of people not given

    • found nothingResveratrol did not help fatty liver, and it may have irritated it. Twenty overweight men took 3,000 mg daily for eight weeks. Insulin resistance, liver fat, belly fat, blood fats and antioxidant activity were all unchanged, and so were the genes it was meant to act on. Two liver enzymes rose against the dummy, which...

      Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2014 · number of people not given

14. 14MyostatinBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 188 people given it.

    number of people not given1 study

    • Blocking the receptor, not the hormone, caused big changes in body makeup. Adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity took bimagrumab or a dummy for 48 weeks. Fat fell by about a fifth, 7.5 kg, against almost nothing on the dummy. Muscle rose by 1.7 kg, waists shrank 9 cm, and average blood sugar fell by three quarters...

      JAMA Network Open, 2021 · number of people not given

15. 15KN069PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.

    number of people not given1 study

    • The first human data look promising, and they come from a very small, very early study. Chinese men with overweight or obesity were given single rising doses, three on the drug for every one on a dummy, plus a smaller repeat-dose group. Side effects were mostly mild stomach and bowel complaints. The drug clears...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2026 · number of people not given

16. 16EcdysteroneSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 233 people given it.5 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • 20 young men lifting weights took the plant extract or a dummy pill for twelve weeks. The extract group lost fat from the arms, legs and belly, and burned more fat. Their fasting insulin fell. But only the arm fat result was clearly better than the dummy pill group. Ten men per group is far too small to settle...

      Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 2025 · number of people not given

17. 17MIB-626SupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 107 people given it.1 reported

    number of people not given1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe tablet moved some body measurements and left every measure of physical function untouched. 30 overweight or obese adults aged 45 and over took MIB-626 or a dummy tablet for four weeks. Weight fell by about two kilograms. Blood pressure and cholesterol both came down. Strength, stamina, how quickly muscles tired...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2023 · number of people not given

18. 18TrevogrumabBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.3 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • Blocking two muscle brakes at once protected most of the muscle people lose on semaglutide. With all three drugs, about 81% of the muscle normally lost was kept, and people lost about 27% more fat than on semaglutide alone. Two drugs instead of three kept about half. These are company-reported figures from a mid-stage...

      Regeneron press release, 2025 · number of people not given

19. 19HGH Fragment 176-191PeptideAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 4 animal studies, no human study.5 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In obese rats, the tail end of growth hormone copied growth hormone's fat burning in fat tissue and slowed weight gain, without blood sugar problems.

      Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 2000 · number of people not given

    • In obese mice, 30 days of the growth hormone fragment by mouth slowed weight gain without changing how much they ate. In a dish, it also sped up fat breakdown in fat tissue taken from obese rodents and from people.

      American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2000 · number of people not given

20. 20TrodusquemineSmall moleculeAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 2 animal studies, no human study.4 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In fat mice on a rich diet. Weight loss came only from fat.

      Obesity, 2010 · number of people not given

21. 21GhrelinPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 27 people given it.1 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In rats and mice. Ghrelin given into the body made them eat more and put on body fat.

      Nature, 2000 · number of people not given

22. 225-Amino-1MQSmall moleculeAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 2 animal studies, no human study.6 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In mice. Blockers of NNMT from the 5-amino-1MQ family cut body weight and fat in mice made fat on a high-fat diet.

      Biochemical Pharmacology, 2018 · number of people not given

23. 23E5 Plasma FractionProcedureAnimal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 4 animal studies, no human study.4 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In mice, and this is the key comparison for this page. Half the plasma was swapped for salt water with 5 percent albumin, with no young plasma added at all. It matched or beat young blood on muscle repair, on fat and scarring in the liver, and on new brain cell growth. If simply thinning the blood does the same job,...

      Aging (Albany NY), 2020 · number of people not given

24. 24Plasma DilutionProcedureLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 42 people given it.6 reported

    number of people not given0 studies

    • In mice, half the plasma was swapped for salt water with 5 percent albumin. Nothing from a young animal was added. That single swap matched or beat joining a young and an old mouse together, on muscle repair, on fat and scarring in the liver, and on new brain cell growth in old mice. Comparing the proteins in mouse...

      Aging (Albany NY), 2020 · number of people not given

1. 01InsulinPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 29,691 people given it.4 reported

   28,250 people4 studies

   • Giving long-acting insulin early did not protect the heart, and it did not cause cancer either. 12,537 people with heart risk factors and blood sugar problems got insulin glargine or usual care, then were followed for about six years. Heart outcomes came out the same. Blood sugar dropping dangerously low was about...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2012 · 12,537 people

   • Two long-acting insulins protected the heart equally, and one caused fewer dangerous lows. 7,637 people with type 2 diabetes, most already with heart or kidney disease, got degludec or glargine without knowing which. Major heart events happened in 8.5 percent against 9.3 percent, close enough to call equal. Severe low...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2017 · 7,637 people

   • The benefit of early tight control outlasted the control itself. 4,209 people from the original trial were followed for 10 more years. Within a year of the trial ending, blood sugar in the two groups had evened out. Ten years later the intensively treated group still had fewer diabetes complications, fewer heart...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2008 · 4,209 people

2. 02TirzepatidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 9 completed trials, 22,802 people given it.11 reported

   18,111 people4 studies

   • Tirzepatide guarded the heart about as well as a drug already known to do it. More than 13,000 people with type 2 diabetes and hardened, narrowed arteries took either tirzepatide or dulaglutide. Heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease happened to 12.2% of the tirzepatide group and 13.1% of the dulaglutide...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 13,299 people

   • Tirzepatide controlled blood sugar better than insulin and caused far fewer dangerous sugar lows. 1,995 people with type 2 diabetes and raised heart risk were treated for a year, everyone knowing which drug they got. Average blood sugar over three months fell about 2.5 points on tirzepatide and 1.44 on insulin...

     The Lancet, 2021 · 1,995 people

   • Tirzepatide beat semaglutide head to head on blood sugar. Nearly 1,900 people with type 2 diabetes took one drug or the other for about nine months. Every tirzepatide dose brought average blood sugar down further than semaglutide did. People on the strongest tirzepatide dose also lost up to 5.5 kg more, which is about...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2021 · 1,879 people

3. 03LiraglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 16,760 people given it.9 reported

   10,186 people2 studies

   • Liraglutide cut heart attacks, strokes and deaths from heart disease in people with diabetes. 9,340 adults with type 2 diabetes and a high risk of heart trouble got either liraglutide or a dummy injection, and were followed for close to four years. About one in eight fewer of those events happened on the drug. In...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2016 · 9,340 people

   • Liraglutide took off a modest amount of weight in people with type 2 diabetes. 846 adults took the daily shot at one of two doses or a dummy one for 56 weeks. Nobody involved knew which. The higher dose took off 6.0% of body weight, the lower dose 4.7%, and the dummy 2.0%. A quarter of the people on the higher dose...

     JAMA, 2015 · 846 people

4. 04EmpagliflozinSmall moleculeStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 16,738 people given it.4 reported

   7,020 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingA diabetes drug that turned out to keep people alive. 7,020 people with type 2 diabetes and high heart risk took empagliflozin or a dummy for about three years. 12.1 percent of the dummy group had a heart attack, had a stroke, or died of heart disease. On empagliflozin, 10.5 percent did. Deaths from any cause were 8.3...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2015 · 7,020 people

5. 05OrforglipronSmall moleculeStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 17,383 people given it.8 reported

   4,273 people4 studies

   • Head to head against the rival pill, it controlled blood sugar better and was harder to put up with. 1,698 adults on metformin took orforglipron or oral semaglutide for a year. Average blood sugar fell further on orforglipron at both dose pairings. Tolerability went the other way every time. Roughly six in ten had...

     The Lancet, 2026 · 1,698 people

   • A pill in this drug class produced real weight loss in people with both obesity and type 2 diabetes. 1,613 adults took one of three doses or a dummy pill for about seventeen months. Weight fell by roughly 5, 7 and 10 percent as the dose rose, against about 2 percent on the dummy. More people quit for side effects on...

     The Lancet, 2026 · 1,613 people

   • It beat the rival pill on blood sugar and lost to it on side effects. 962 adults on metformin were sorted by chance to orforglipron or dapagliflozin for about ten months. Average blood sugar fell further on orforglipron at every dose. Stomach and bowel trouble was the price: roughly half that group had it, against one...

     The Lancet, 2026 · 962 people

6. 06TaspoglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 2,181 people given it.

   2,181 people3 studies

   • Taspoglutide controlled blood sugar better than exenatide and made far more people sick. 1,189 overweight adults with diabetes were split by chance across two taspoglutide doses or twice-daily exenatide for six months, and everybody knew which. Average blood sugar fell more on taspoglutide. Weight loss was no better....

     Diabetes Care, 2013 · 1,189 people

   • Taspoglutide beat sitagliptin on blood sugar and weight, and the safety picture ended the drug. 666 people on metformin were split by chance across two taspoglutide doses, sitagliptin, or a dummy, for six months. Nobody involved knew which. Blood sugar and weight both fell further on taspoglutide. Stomach trouble,...

     Diabetes Therapy, 2012 · 666 people

   • Taspoglutide lowered blood sugar well on top of two other diabetes drugs, and the side effects were brutal. 326 people were split by chance between two doses and a dummy for six months. Nobody involved knew which. Average blood sugar fell by well over a point against under half a point on the dummy, and most people...

     Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2012 · 326 people

7. 07MazdutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 2,372 people given it.7 reported

   1,301 people3 studies

   • Head to head against an established diabetes drug, mazdutide won on both blood sugar and weight. Seven hundred and thirty-one Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes were given mazdutide at one of two doses or dulaglutide for about seven months. Both mazdutide doses lowered average blood sugar more than dulaglutide did....

     Nature, 2026 · 731 people

   • Mazdutide on its own lowered blood sugar sharply in a late-stage Chinese trial. 320 people with type 2 diabetes took one of two doses or a dummy shot for 24 weeks. Average blood sugar over three months fell 1.57 points on the lower dose and 2.15 on the higher, against 0.14 on the dummy. Weight fell 5.61% and 7.81%,...

     Nature, 2026 · 320 people

   • Mazdutide beat a dummy shot on blood sugar and edged an older drug, in a short mid-stage trial. 250 Chinese adults with type 2 diabetes were treated for 20 weeks. Average blood sugar over three months fell between 1.41 and 1.67 points across mazdutide doses, against 1.35 on dulaglutide and no change at all on the...

     Diabetes Care, 2024 · 250 people

8. 08CagrilintidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 5,752 people given it.7 reported

   1,298 people2 studies

   • In a large late-stage trial the pair took off substantial weight and pulled most people's blood sugar into range. 1,206 adults with extra weight and type 2 diabetes took CagriSema or a dummy injection for about sixteen months. Body weight fell 13.7% on the drug and 3.4% on the dummy. Nearly three quarters got their...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 1,206 people

   • Adding cagrilintide to semaglutide roughly doubled weight loss in a small early trial. 92 adults with type 2 diabetes took the pair, or semaglutide alone, or cagrilintide alone, for eight months. The pair took off 15.6% of body weight. Semaglutide alone took off 5.1% and cagrilintide alone 8.1%. This was an early...

     The Lancet, 2023 · 92 people

9. 09SemaglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 12 completed trials, 42,363 people given it.10 reported

   18,037 people2 studies

   • A single eye clinic reported far more cases of a sudden blinding optic nerve stroke among its semaglutide patients. Nobody was given anything. Researchers looked back through records at one specialist clinic for eye nerve problems, covering 16,827 patients. Over three years the condition appeared in 8.9% of...

     JAMA Ophthalmology, 2024 · 16,827 people

   • Semaglutide still worked when people also had diabetes, though the weight loss was smaller. About 1,200 adults with extra weight and type 2 diabetes got the weekly shot or a dummy one, and nobody involved knew which. After 68 weeks the drug group had lost about a tenth of their body weight and the dummy group about...

     The Lancet, 2021 · 1,210 people

10. 10CagriSemaPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 4,954 people given it.8 reported

    1,206 people1 study

    • The same combination worked in people who also had type 2 diabetes, and it worked less well. 1,206 patients took it or a dummy for about 16 months. They lost close to 14 percent of their weight, against roughly 3 percent on the dummy. Weight drugs reliably do less in diabetes than outside it, and this is that pattern...

      New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 1,206 people

11. 11CotadutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 1,221 people given it.

    1,147 people3 studies

    • Cotadutide lowered blood sugar and weight in people with diabetes, and it beat liraglutide on weight at the top dose. 834 adults on metformin were split by chance across three doses, a dummy, or liraglutide, for about a year. Blood sugar and weight both fell against the dummy. At the highest dose, liver enzymes and...

      Diabetes Care, 2021 · 834 people

    • Cotadutide sharply cut protein leaking into the urine in diabetic kidney disease. 248 people with type 2 diabetes and kidney damage were split by chance across three doses, a dummy, or semaglutide, for about six months. Protein in the urine fell by roughly half at the two higher doses, and the fall held. Serious side...

      Kidney International, 2024 · 248 people

    • An early trial showed cotadutide blunts the blood sugar spike after a meal, and takes off some weight. 65 adults with diabetes and extra weight took it daily for seven weeks, or a dummy. After meals, blood sugar rose about a fifth less, while it climbed on the dummy. Weight fell about three and a half percent, against...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2020 · 65 people

12. 12AlbiglutideBiologicStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 10,304 people given it.

    841 people2 studies

    • In a head to head against liraglutide, albiglutide lost. 841 adults were split by chance between the two drugs for eight months, and everybody knew which they were on. Average blood sugar fell further on liraglutide. Albiglutide was meant to prove it was no worse, and it failed to prove that. Injection site reactions...

      Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, 2014 · 841 people

    • Albiglutide let most people drop their mealtime insulin without losing blood sugar control. 814 people on insulin were split by chance: one group swapped mealtime insulin for albiglutide, the other carried on. After six months blood sugar was the same in both. More than half on albiglutide stopped mealtime insulin...

      Diabetes Care, 2020 · number of people not given

13. 13RetatrutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,345 people given it.8 reported

    818 people2 studies

    • This is the first full late-stage report for retatrutide, and it holds up. 537 people with type 2 diabetes not controlled by diet and exercise took the drug or a dummy shot for 40 weeks. Nobody involved knew which. Average blood sugar over three months fell between 1.69 and 1.94 points across the doses, against 0.81...

      The Lancet, 2026 · 537 people

    • Retatrutide lowered blood sugar and weight more than an older drug, in a mid-stage trial. 281 people with type 2 diabetes were split by chance between retatrutide, dulaglutide and a dummy shot, and nobody involved knew which. At the top dose, average blood sugar over three months fell about 2 points, against almost...

      The Lancet, 2023 · 281 people

14. 14AmylinPeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 651 people given it.4 reported

    651 people1 study

    • It worked, and the benefit was modest. 651 people with type 1 diabetes took pramlintide with their insulin, or a dummy shot, for a year. Their average blood sugar over three months fell by about a third of a point. On the dummy it barely moved. Weight control also got better. A third of a point is a real difference...

      Diabetic Medicine, 2004 · 651 people

15. 15DulaglutideBiologicStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 10,500 people given it.1 reported

    599 people1 study

    • A weekly shot matched a daily one for blood sugar control. 599 people with type 2 diabetes already on metformin took either weekly dulaglutide or daily liraglutide for six months. Average blood sugar over three months fell by about the same amount on each. The trial was built only to show the weekly drug was no worse,...

      The Lancet, 2014 · 599 people

16. 16PEG-loxenatidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 590 people given it.

    590 people4 studies2 found nothing

    • On its own it lowered blood sugar clearly, and the higher dose brought more sickness. 361 Chinese patients whose blood sugar was not under control were split by chance to a dummy, 100 or 200 micrograms weekly for 24 weeks. Average blood sugar fell 1.02 and 1.34 points against 0.17 on the dummy. 34.7 and 46.6 percent...

      Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2021 · 361 people

    • Very high doses took off a lot of weight, and this trial cannot carry that. 123 enrolled at one centre and 105 finished, split by chance to 300 or 400 micrograms weekly or a dummy. Weight fell 16.34 kg and 21.14 kg against 6.75 kg. Side effects hit 36.11 percent on the high dose against 11.43 percent. Here is the...

      Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2026 · 123 people

    • found nothingIt matched the comparison drug on a urine marker, and no actual kidney outcome was measured. 106 people at one centre were assigned by chance and everybody knew what they were taking. 80 finished. Over 24 weeks, protein leaking into the urine fell 29.3 percent on PEG-loxenatide and 31.8 percent on dapagliflozin, a gap...

      Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2024 · 106 people

17. 17VisepegenatidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 572 people given it.

    560 people3 studies1 found nothing

    • It lowered blood sugar in people newly treated for diabetes, and the weight number needs care. 273 adults who had never been treated were split evenly by chance to 150 micrograms weekly or a dummy for 24 weeks. Average blood sugar fell 1.36 points against 0.63. 50.4 percent got below 7.0 percent against 14.2 percent....

      The Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific, 2024 · 273 people

    • The middle dose beat the highest one, which is why the middle dose went forward. 251 Chinese patients who had never been treated got a dummy or 75, 150 or 200 micrograms weekly for 12 weeks. Average blood sugar over three months fell further than the dummy group by 0.72, 1.18 and 1.02 points. Nobody had a serious...

      Diabetologia, 2021 · 251 people

    • found nothingA mechanism study in 36 people, and the plainest measure of insulin resistance did not budge. The patients got 25 or 50 micrograms weekly, or twice-daily exenatide, for 12 weeks. Meal tests were used to model how the pancreas and body handled insulin. Both treatments improved pancreas function against each group's own...

      Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2023 · 36 people

18. 18PramlintidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 684 people given it.

    480 people3 studies

    • Pramlintide improved blood sugar control in type 1 diabetes, and people lost weight instead of gaining it. Four hundred and eighty patients were treated alongside their insulin for a year. At three months, average blood sugar had fallen by 0.67 percentage points on the drug and 0.16 on a dummy injection. Severe low...

      Diabetes Care, 2002 · 480 people

    • In type 2 diabetes the benefit is real but small. Researchers pooled two long trials of overweight and obese patients who were already on insulin. After six months, the drug groups had about 0.41 percentage points lower average blood sugar than the dummy groups, and were 1.8 kg lighter. They also needed less insulin....

      Obesity Research, 2004 · number of people not given

    • This is the regulator's instruction sheet, not a study. It approves pramlintide only as an add on to insulin taken at meals, in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It carries the strongest warning the regulator issues, because combining it with insulin can drop blood sugar dangerously low. To manage that, the label tells...

      U.S. FDA (Drugs@FDA label), 2015 · number of people not given

19. 19SurvodutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 2,034 people given it.7 reported

    413 people1 study

    • Against semaglutide, survodutide matched it on blood sugar, beat it on weight, and cost more in side effects. The trial put 413 people with type 2 diabetes on one of six survodutide doses, on semaglutide, or on a dummy injection for four months. Average blood sugar fell by about the same amount on both drugs. Weight...

      Diabetologia, 2024 · 413 people

20. 20MetforminSmall moleculeModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 489 people given it.6 reported

    3,629 people4 studies

    • The longest follow-up in people we have found no drop in deaths. 3234 adults at high risk of diabetes were given metformin, an intensive lifestyle program, or a dummy pill. After a median 21 years, 453 had died. Neither metformin nor lifestyle cut deaths from any cause, cancer or heart disease. Preventing diabetes and...

      Diabetes Care, 2021 · 3,234 people

    • This is the diabetes study that made metformin a first-choice drug, not a longevity study. 342 overweight adults with new type 2 diabetes took metformin, and 411 stayed on diet as the main plan. They were followed for a median of 10.7 years. Deaths from any cause were 36 percent lower on metformin. A second part of...

      Lancet, 1998 · 342 people

    • Metformin dulled the gains from exercise again, this time from cardio. 53 adults with an average age of 62 did 12 weeks of aerobic training, on either metformin or a dummy pill. The people on metformin improved less in fitness, and less in how well their bodies handled blood sugar. Training still helped them. It just...

      Aging Cell, 2019 · 53 people

21. 21ResveratrolSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 14 completed trials, 403 people given it.7 reported

    357 people8 studies7 found nothing

    • found nothingThe longest and largest diabetes trial of resveratrol found nothing that counted. 192 patients took 40 mg, 500 mg or a dummy pill every day for six months. An inflammation marker fell further on resveratrol, but not by enough to call real. Weight, waist, blood pressure, blood sugar, insulin and a string of other...

      Pharmacological Research, 2016 · 192 people

    • found nothingThe longest resveratrol trial found a small gain in thinking that has not been confirmed since. 125 women past menopause, aged 45 to 85, took 75 mg twice a day for a year and a dummy pill for another year. Their overall thinking scores came out better on resveratrol, though the gain was small. Blood flow in the brain,...

      Clinical Nutrition, 2021 · 125 people

    • found nothingA tiny dose improved insulin resistance in nineteen patients over four weeks. A marker of oxidative damage in the urine fell, and a signalling protein in the blood platelets rose. The insulin-making cells did not change. The odd thing here is the dose. It is a hundredth of what most good trials use, which is hard to...

      British Journal of Nutrition, 2011 · 19 people

22. 22MitoglitazoneSmall moleculeModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 385 people given it.1 reported

    712 people2 studies

    • It lowered blood sugar about as well as the older drug it was meant to improve on, with less water retention. 356 people with type 2 diabetes were split by chance between three doses of mitoglitazone, pioglitazone, or a dummy pill, for twelve weeks, and 258 finished. Fasting blood sugar fell about the same on both...

      Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2013 · 356 people

    • This is the registry entry for the diabetes trial above. 356 people enrolled, it finished in December 2011, and results were posted in March 2013. The main thing it was built to measure was the change in fasting blood sugar at twelve weeks. The published paper describes what came of it. The company behind the drug,...

      ClinicalTrials.gov, 2013 · 356 people

23. 23ExenatidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 15,088 people given it.1 reported

    336 people1 study

    • Exenatide lowered blood sugar and took off a little weight in people already on metformin. 336 patients at 82 US clinics added exenatide or a dummy injection twice a day for seven months. Average blood sugar over three months fell about three quarters of a point on the higher dose and four tenths on the lower one. On...

      Diabetes Care, 2005 · 336 people

24. 24BofanglutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 750 people given it.4 reported

    272 people1 study

    • It matched semaglutide on blood sugar and cost people far more stomach trouble. 272 adults with type 2 diabetes at 37 Chinese hospitals took bofanglutide or semaglutide, and everybody knew which. By week 24 average blood sugar had fallen 1.87 to 2.32 points on bofanglutide, against 1.60 on semaglutide. Stomach side...

      Annals of Internal Medicine, 2026 · 272 people

1. 01OrforglipronSmall moleculeStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 17,383 people given it.8 reported

   11,220 people1 study

   • Pooled liver data across the whole late-stage programme show no liver signal. 11,220 people were combined from seven trials, about 6,900 on orforglipron and 4,300 on something else, followed for up to two years. Six people in each half hit the liver enzyme threshold that triggers concern, and every orforglipron case...

     Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2026 · 11,220 people

2. 02MethotrexateSmall moleculeStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 5,022 people given it.4 reported

   4,786 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingLow-dose methotrexate did not prevent heart attacks or strokes in people who already had heart disease, and it did not lower the inflammation markers it was supposed to. 4,786 people took it or a dummy pill for about two years, and all took folate too. This is the trial that separates methotrexate from the...

     The New England Journal of Medicine, 2019 · 4,786 people

3. 03SemaglutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 12 completed trials, 42,363 people given it.10 reported

   1,197 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingSemaglutide healed liver inflammation in a serious fatty liver disease, on a look taken partway through. Liver samples were taken from the first 800 of 1,197 patients at 72 weeks. The inflammation cleared without the scarring getting worse in 62.9% on the drug against 34.3% on the dummy, and scarring improved in 36.8%...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 1,197 people

4. 04Green tea extractSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 1,075 people given it.4 reported

   1,475 people2 studies

   • A year of high dose green tea extract harmed the liver in a small but real share of women. 1,075 women past menopause took an extract with 843 mg of EGCG a day, or a dummy pill, for one year. Liver enzymes rose in 36 women on the extract against 4 on the dummy pill. Just over 1% had a liver problem serious enough to...

     Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2015 · 1,075 people

   • Who gets liver injury from green tea extract may be partly in their genes. This is a second look at the Minnesota trial, covering the 400 women who took the extract. Women carrying one version of a liver-processing gene saw liver enzymes rise about 80% above their starting level at six and nine months. Women with the...

     Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2023 · 400 people

5. 05EGCGSupplementStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 1,172 people given it.5 reported

   1,075 people1 study

   • Green tea extract damaged some livers, at ten times the dummy group's rate. 1,075 women past menopause took an extract delivering 843 mg of EGCG a day, or a dummy, for a year. A liver enzyme rose in 36 women on the extract, 6.7 percent, against 4 on the dummy, 0.7 percent. 1.3 percent had a liver problem recorded as...

     Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2015 · 1,075 people

6. 06FGF21BiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 350 people given it.4 reported

   350 people2 studies

   • A lab-built version of FGF21 healed liver scarring in a mid-sized study. 222 people with fatty liver disease and moderate to advanced scarring got one of three doses or a dummy shot, for 24 weeks. Scarring improved without the disease getting worse in 7% of the dummy group, against 22% to 27% on the drug. The disease...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2023 · 222 people

   • The higher dose worked at two years and the lower dose did not. 128 people with fatty liver disease and moderate to advanced scarring got one of two doses or a dummy shot. After 96 weeks, scarring improved by at least one stage in 19% of the dummy group, 30% on the lower dose and 49% on the higher. Only the higher...

     Lancet, 2025 · 128 people

7. 07SurvodutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 2,034 people given it.7 reported

   293 people2 studies

   • Survodutide healed liver damage in a lot of the people who had it. Two hundred and ninety-three adults with liver inflammation confirmed by a tissue sample were treated for eleven months. Between 47 and 62 out of every 100 on the drug, depending on dose, had their liver damage improve without their scarring getting...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2024 · 293 people

   • This trial is running and has published nothing, because it is not due to finish until 2031. It is giving survodutide or a dummy injection to 1,800 adults whose fatty liver disease has already scarred the liver. It is built to show two things: that the disease clears without the scarring worsening, and that the...

     ClinicalTrials.gov, Boehringer Ingelheim, 2026 · number of people not given

8. 08EfruxiferminBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 181 people given it.2 reported

   181 people1 study1 found nothing

   • found nothingThe trial failed the test it was built to pass, then looked better later. 181 people with liver scarring from fatty liver disease got efruxifermin or a dummy injection. At 36 weeks, when the answer was due, 19% on the 50 mg dose had less scarring against 13% on the dummy, which is not a gap you can lean on. By 96...

     New England Journal of Medicine, 2025 · 181 people

9. 09TesamorelinPeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 8 completed trials, 1,729 people given it.10 reported

   149 people3 studies1 found nothing

   • found nothingIt worked on liver fat, in a small trial. 61 people with HIV and a fatty liver were split evenly and given a daily injection of tesamorelin or a dummy version for a year. Nobody involved knew which. Liver fat came down by about a third more on tesamorelin than on the dummy. By the end 35% of the tesamorelin group had...

     The Lancet HIV, 2019 · 61 people

   • Tesamorelin shrank both deep belly fat and liver fat, in a small trial. 50 people with HIV and belly fat were split by chance, and 48 were treated for six months. Deep fat around the organs fell 42 cm2 more than on the dummy shot, and liver fat fell about 3 percentage points more. Fasting blood sugar rose 7 mg/dL more...

     JAMA, 2014 · 50 people

   • The drug still worked in people taking the newer HIV medicines that tend to add weight. 38 of the 61 people in this trial were on integrase inhibitors, and 31 finished the year. Their deep belly fat fell about 25 cm2 while it rose about 14 cm2 on the dummy shot, and liver fat fell 4.2% against 0.5%. Blood sugar...

     AIDS, 2024 · 38 people

10. 10EfinopegdutidePeptideModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 145 people given it.

    145 people2 studies1 found nothing

    • found nothingA dual-acting drug cleared far more liver fat than semaglutide in a head to head test. 145 people with fatty liver disease were split by chance between the two drugs for about six months. Everybody knew which drug they were taking. Liver fat fell by roughly three quarters on efinopegdutide against a little over two...

      Journal of Hepatology, 2023 · 145 people

    • The follow-on trial is running in the disease stage that actually matters, and it has reported nothing. It enrols people with steatohepatitis, which is the point where liver fat has turned into inflammation and scarring. Enrolment is closed and the study continues. No results have been posted. Liver fat on a scan is a...

      ClinicalTrials.gov, 2026 · number of people not given

11. 11Efimosfermin alfaBiologicModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 186 people given it.2 reported

    102 people1 study

    • Liver fat fell sharply. 102 people with fatty liver disease got efimosfermin or a dummy shot for 12 weeks. By week 12, 89 percent of those on the drug had cut their liver fat by at least 30 percent, against 7 percent on the dummy. Side effects were mostly mild nausea and diarrhoea. Liver fat on a scan is not scarring...

      The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2025 · 102 people

12. 12CotadutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 6 completed trials, 1,221 people given it.

    74 people1 study

    • Cotadutide cut liver fat in people with confirmed liver inflammation, but never looked at the liver itself again. 74 people with biopsy-confirmed disease were split by chance between two doses and a dummy, for about five months. At the top dose, liver fat fell by five percentage points more than on the dummy. Side...

      Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2024 · 74 people

13. 13TUDCASupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 54 people given it.7 reported

    20 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingFour weeks of TUDCA improved insulin sensitivity in liver and muscle, and not in fat. 20 obese adults took 1,750 mg a day or a dummy for four weeks, with detailed infusion tests and samples from muscle and fat. Liver and muscle insulin sensitivity rose by roughly 30 percent while the dummy group did not change. The...

      Diabetes, 2010 · 20 people

14. 14ResveratrolSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 14 completed trials, 403 people given it.7 reported

    17 people3 studies2 found nothing

    • This is the strongest good human result resveratrol has, and it rests on eleven men. Obese but otherwise healthy men took 150 mg a day for a month, and also spent a month on a dummy pill. Their resting metabolism slowed the way it does when people eat less. Liver fat, blood sugar, triglycerides, a liver enzyme and...

      Cell Metabolism, 2011 · 11 people

    • found nothingThis is the study that explains why so many resveratrol trials come back empty. Six volunteers took a labelled dose, and their guts absorbed at least 70 percent of it. Almost none of it stayed as resveratrol. The gut wall and the liver tag it chemically almost immediately, so what ends up circulating is a set of...

      Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 2004 · 6 people

    • found nothingResveratrol did not help fatty liver, and it may have irritated it. Twenty overweight men took 3,000 mg daily for eight weeks. Insulin resistance, liver fat, belly fat, blood fats and antioxidant activity were all unchanged, and so were the genes it was meant to act on. Two liver enzymes rose against the dummy, which...

      Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2014 · number of people not given

15. 15GHRP-6PeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 5 completed trials, 42 people given it.8 reported

    10 people1 study

    • Block the growth hormone receptor and this peptide turns out to push blood sugar directly. 10 healthy lean men were studied, and nobody involved knew who got what. With the receptor blocked by a drug, and the men not fasting, GHRP-6 sent insulin up roughly eightfold and blood sugar up noticeably. Free fatty acids...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2001 · 10 people

16. 16MibavademabBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 1 person given it.

    1 people1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe antibody only worked in people who were already short of leptin. In an early study in people, compared with a dummy shot, it was well tolerated. In the authors' words, it reduced body weight over twelve weeks in people with low leptin in the blood, and had no effect on weight in people whose leptin was higher. One...

      Science Translational Medicine, 2023 · 1 people

17. 17RetatrutidePeptideStrong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,345 people given it.8 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • Retatrutide cleared fat out of the liver in a small side study. People with obesity and a fatty liver took the drug or a dummy injection for six months, inside the larger trial. By the end, liver fat had come back into the normal range for 86% of those on the strongest dose, 79% on the middle dose and 52% on the...

      Nature Medicine, 2024 · number of people not given

18. 18PemvidutidePeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, none stating how many people.1 reported

    number of people not given2 studies

    • A weekly shot cut the amount of fat sitting in people's livers, compared with a dummy shot. One half of the molecule acts on the liver directly, which is why it was expected to do this. Note what was measured. The amount of fat in the liver, not damage to the liver, and not how anyone felt.

      Journal of Hepatology, 2025 · number of people not given

    • The drug cleared up liver inflammation in six months without letting scarring get worse, which is what it was asked to do. It did not improve the scarring itself by that point. Those are two different things, and scarring is the one that predicts what happens to a person over years. Six months is early to expect scar...

      The Lancet, 2025 · number of people not given

19. 19PegozaferminBiologicLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.2 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • Liver scarring improved on the drug in a mid-stage study. 219 people with moderate or severe scarring from fatty liver disease got pegozafermin or a dummy shot for 24 weeks. Scarring improved in 22 to 27 percent of those on the drug, against 7 percent on the dummy. Nausea and diarrhoea were the most common side...

      New England Journal of Medicine, 2023 · number of people not given

20. 20SulforaphaneSupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 7 completed trials, 423 people given it.6 reported

    number of people not given1 study

    • The human part of this much-cited paper is the smallest part of it. Sulforaphane was picked out by computer, by matching a diabetic liver pattern against 3,800 drug patterns. It cut sugar production in liver cells. In diabetic animals it improved glucose handling about as much as metformin. Finally, in a small human...

      Science Translational Medicine, 2017 · number of people not given

21. 21MIB-626SupplementModerate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 107 people given it.1 reported

    number of people not given1 study1 found nothing

    • found nothingThe tablet moved some body measurements and left every measure of physical function untouched. 30 overweight or obese adults aged 45 and over took MIB-626 or a dummy tablet for four weeks. Weight fell by about two kilograms. Blood pressure and cholesterol both came down. Strength, stamina, how quickly muscles tired...

      Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2023 · number of people not given

22. 22OsteocalcinPeptidePreliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 2 human studies where nobody was given it.

    5,169 people1 study

    • The arrow points the other way. Osteocalcin was measured in 5,169 people in China, and lower levels went with higher blood sugar, insulin resistance, triglycerides, liver fat and weight. That is exactly what the bone hormone story predicts. Then the researchers used genetics to test which way the causation runs, and...

      Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2021 · 5,169 people

23. 23MOTS-cPeptideLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 30 people given it.6 reported

    125 people1 study

    • This study points the other way, and the MOTS-c story does not hold together. A hundred and fifty-nine adults without diabetes or heart disease had their blood measured. Nobody was given anything. Those with metabolic syndrome carried more MOTS-c, not less, and levels rose with belly fat and with fat in the liver....

      Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, General Subjects, 2021 · 125 people

24. 24PterostilbeneSupplementLimited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 80 people given it.4 reported

    80 people1 study

    • This is a safety report and it makes no claim that the compound works. It covers the same 80 patients, of whom 91.3 percent finished, averaging 54 years old and 71 percent women. Liver, kidney and blood sugar markers showed no drug reactions, and no meaningful self-reported or major reactions turned up. The authors...

      Journal of Toxicology, 2013 · 80 people