Best Peptides for Weight Loss (2026): Evidence-Ranked

Key takeaways

• The best peptides for weight loss are the ones your doctor already prescribes. Tirzepatide (15 to 21% of body weight at 72 weeks) and semaglutide (about 15% at 68 weeks) have the strongest evidence of any weight-loss medication ever tested, and both are FDA-approved and available from a licensed clinician this month.
• Liraglutide, an older daily GLP-1 drug, is a distant third (about 8 kg over 56 weeks). Tesamorelin is a different tool: it reduces visceral belly fat by about 15% in six months without changing total weight much, and the only legal version is the brand, Egrifta, because as a biological product it cannot be compounded.
• Below that line the evidence stops. AOD-9604 failed its human trials, 5-amino-1MQ is a small molecule with mouse data, MOTS-c has mouse data and a committee vote, CJC-1295 with ipamorelin has no weight data, and sermorelin has none either. None of the first four can be legally made by any US pharmacy in October 2026.
• Retatrutide produced 25% weight loss in its phase 3 trial and is not available: it is investigational, Lilly plans to file in early 2027, and the vials sold online are unapproved drugs.
• Ranking by evidence and legality rather than popularity gives an uncomfortable result for the peptide industry: everything with proof is a prescription drug, and everything sold as a cheaper alternative has none.

How we ranked

A ranking of "peptides for weight loss" is mostly a test of whether the author is willing to say that the winners are the drugs in the pharmacy. We ranked on four criteria, in this order:

1. Human evidence for weight or fat loss, graded A to D as in our editorial policy: A is adequately powered randomized trials in people like the reader, D is animal data or nothing.
2. Legality in the United States: whether an FDA-approved product exists, or a state-licensed pharmacy may legally compound the substance, as of October 2026 per our legal tracker. A compound no pharmacy may make has no legal version, whatever a clinic says.
3. Safety data: labels and trials versus case reports and forum posts.
4. Cost and access, from our cost guide.

Popularity, search volume and what a clinic's menu lists did not count. Where a compound is sold for fat loss and has no human evidence, it is ranked at the bottom and we say why; where it cannot be legally obtained, we say that too. The result is honest rather than exciting: the top two are GLP-1 drugs, the realistic third and fourth are a daily GLP-1 drug and a visceral-fat drug, and the "peptide" products that fill social media sit at the bottom together.

The ranking at a glance

1. Tirzepatide: the most effective approved option

What it does. Tirzepatide is a single peptide that activates the GLP-1 and GIP receptors, reducing appetite, slowing the stomach and improving insulin response. It is injected once a week.

The key trial. SURMOUNT-1 randomized 2,539 adults with obesity (or overweight plus a weight-related condition), without diabetes, to 5, 10 or 15 mg weekly or placebo for 72 weeks. Mean weight loss was 15.0%, 19.5% and 20.9% versus 3.1%; 57% of the 15 mg group lost at least 20% of their body weight versus 3% on placebo. Gastrointestinal events, mostly mild to moderate and concentrated in the escalation phase, led 4.3 to 7.1% to stop versus 2.6% on placebo (Jastreboff 2022). In SURMOUNT-5, the only head-to-head trial, tirzepatide at its maximum tolerated dose produced 20.2% weight loss at 72 weeks against 13.7% for semaglutide at its maximum tolerated dose, in 751 adults with obesity and no diabetes (Aronne 2025).

Grade A. Large, randomized, placebo-controlled and head-to-head trials in the population that buys it.

Legal status. FDA-approved as Zepbound (weight reduction and obstructive sleep apnea) and Mounjaro (type 2 diabetes). Compounded tirzepatide was legal in volume only while the drug was in shortage; FDA declared that over on December 19, 2024, and since then a pharmacy may compound it only for a patient with a documented need the brand cannot meet. FDA sent 55 warning letters to telehealth companies over compounded GLP-1 marketing in 2026.

Cost. $299 (2.5 mg) to $449 (7.5 mg and up) a month for brand vials through LillyDirect with on-time refills; $180 to $300 typical for compounded product, climbing at the higher doses.

Who it is for. Adults with a BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with a weight-related condition, who are prepared for long-term treatment; weight returns after stopping. Not for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2, or in pregnancy. Our compounded semaglutide versus tirzepatide guide has the dosing charts, side-effect tables and the legal detail.

2. Semaglutide: nearly as effective, with the heart data

What it does. A GLP-1 receptor agonist, injected weekly (Wegovy, Ozempic) or taken daily as a tablet (the Wegovy pill).

The key trial. STEP 1 randomized 1,961 adults with obesity, without diabetes, to semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo for 68 weeks. Mean weight loss was 14.9% versus 2.4%; 86% of the semaglutide group lost at least 5% and half lost at least 15%. Nausea and diarrhea were the main side effects, and 4.5% stopped because of gastrointestinal events versus 0.8% on placebo (Wilding 2021). Semaglutide is also the only weight-loss drug with a completed cardiovascular outcomes trial in people with obesity: in SELECT, it cut major cardiovascular events by 20% in adults with existing heart disease, which is why Wegovy carries that indication; the GLP-1 guide covers that trial.

Grade A.

Legal status. Approved. Compounded semaglutide is in the same narrow lane as tirzepatide: the shortage ended February 21, 2025, and FDA has said that price or commercial availability alone is not such a need. FDA has also warned that some compounders used salt forms of semaglutide that are not the approved active ingredient.

Cost. $349 a month for Wegovy through NovoCare in 2026, $199 for the first two fills for new patients; the tablet is $149 at the starting dose to $299 at maintenance; compounded $150 to $350.

Who it is for. The same population as tirzepatide, with a tilt toward semaglutide for anyone with established cardiovascular disease, anyone with MASH (an indication on the Wegovy label) and anyone who wants a pill.

3. Liraglutide: the older daily GLP-1

What it does. The first GLP-1 drug approved for weight management (Saxenda, 2014), a daily injection escalated from 0.6 mg to 3 mg.

The key trial. SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes randomized 3,731 adults without diabetes to liraglutide 3 mg daily or placebo for 56 weeks. Weight loss was 8.4 kg versus 2.8 kg; 63% lost at least 5% versus 27%, and 33% lost more than 10% versus 11%. Nausea and diarrhea were the common side effects; serious adverse events occurred in 6.2% versus 5.0% (Pi-Sunyer 2015).

Grade A, for a smaller effect.

Legal status. Approved, with generic versions on the market; FDA's May 1, 2026 Federal Register proposal would keep liraglutide, like the other two, off the list of substances outsourcing facilities may use.

Cost. Liraglutide is not in our cost guide, and generic pricing varies by pharmacy; we do not quote a figure we have not checked.

Who it is for. Someone whose insurance covers it and not the weekly drugs, or who cannot tolerate them. The daily injection and the roughly half-sized effect are why it has fallen to third.

4. Tesamorelin: a visceral-fat drug, not a weight-loss drug

What it does. Tesamorelin is a stabilized analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone that makes the pituitary release more of your own growth hormone, which in turn mobilizes visceral (deep abdominal) fat. It is injected daily.

The key trials. In 412 people with HIV and treatment-associated abdominal fat, 2 mg daily for 26 weeks reduced visceral adipose tissue by 15.2% while it rose 5.0% on placebo; triglycerides fell 50 mg/dL and IGF-1 rose 81%; more people on tesamorelin withdrew for adverse events (Falutz 2007). A pooled analysis of the two phase 3 trials (806 patients) confirmed the 15% visceral-fat effect at 26 weeks, showed it was maintained at 52 weeks in people who kept taking it (17.5%), and found no change in subcutaneous fat and no meaningful change in glucose (Falutz 2010). The one trial outside HIV randomized 60 abdominally obese adults with reduced growth hormone secretion to 2 mg daily or placebo for 12 months: visceral fat fell (a 35 cm2 treatment effect), carotid intima-media thickness, C-reactive protein and triglycerides improved, subcutaneous fat did not change, and glucose was unaffected (Makimura 2012).

Notice what those abstracts do not report: total body weight. Tesamorelin shrinks the fat around the organs and leaves the fat under the skin alone, which is why the scale moves little. That makes it a real drug for a real problem, visceral adiposity with its cardiovascular risk, and a poor answer to "how do I lose 30 pounds".

Grade B. Strong trials in a narrow approved population; one small trial in obese adults without HIV.

Legal status. FDA-approved as Egrifta for HIV-associated abdominal fat accumulation, and a clinician may prescribe the brand off label. It was never on FDA's Category 2 list (FDA Category 2 list), but that is not what decides its status: FDA regulates tesamorelin as a biological product, and biological products cannot be compounded under section 503A or 503B, so no pharmacy may legally compound it. The legal tracker explains the rule.

Cost. Brand Egrifta, the only legal version, is $2,400 to $2,800 a month, and insurance generally covers it only for the labeled HIV indication. Cheaper 'compounded tesamorelin' offers are for a product FDA does not consider eligible for compounding; the cost guide has the figures.

Who it is for. Someone with documented visceral adiposity and a clinician who will measure IGF-1 and glucose, with the usual growth-hormone cautions: not with an active cancer, not in pregnancy, and watched for fluid retention, joint pain and glucose changes. Read the tesamorelin profile and compare it with sermorelin.

5. AOD-9604: the fat-loss peptide that failed its trials

What it is. A synthetic copy of amino acids 177 to 191 of human growth hormone, the fragment thought to carry its fat-mobilizing effect without its growth effects.

The evidence. In obese mice, 14 days of AOD9604 reduced body-weight gain and increased fat oxidation without binding the growth hormone receptor or raising blood sugar (Heffernan 2001). That is the finding on which every sales page rests. The human program, run by its Australian sponsor in the 2000s, included six trials, two of them oral phase 2b studies in 300 and 500 obese adults. The sponsor-affiliated 2014 review puts the outcome in one sentence: effects on weight loss "were seen in initial trials but were not seen in the last study". The full results were never published in a peer-reviewed journal, the drug was never approved anywhere, and the sponsor repositioned it as a nutraceutical ingredient (Moré and Kenley 2014). A 2026 Sports Medicine review of unapproved peptides sold direct to patients lists AOD-9604 among compounds with animal signals and scarce human safety data (Mendias 2026).

Grade D for weight loss in humans: the trials exist, and they did not show it.

Legal status. FDA placed AOD-9604 in Category 2 in 2023; its advisory committee reviewed it in December 2024 and FDA proposes not to add it to the permitted list. No US pharmacy may compound it. The "oral AOD-9604" and "injectable AOD-9604" sold online are research vials and supplements with no verified content.

Who it is for. Nobody, on the evidence. The AOD-9604 profile has the full history.

6. 5-amino-1MQ: not a peptide, and not tested in people

What it is. 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium is a small molecule, not a peptide; it inhibits an enzyme called NNMT (nicotinamide N-methyltransferase) that is more active in the fat tissue of obese animals.

The evidence. In diet-induced obese mice, a potent NNMT inhibitor from this chemical family reduced body weight, white fat mass, fat-cell size and plasma cholesterol without reducing food intake and without observable adverse effects over the study (Neelakantan 2018). As of October 2026 PubMed indexes no human trial of 5-amino-1MQ; the handful of later papers are mouse and cell studies.

Grade D.

Legal status. It is not a component of any approved drug, has no monograph and is on no FDA list, so no pharmacy may compound it; sold for human use it is an unapproved drug, whether the label says "research" or "supplement". Oral capsules are marketed on the mouse result.

Who it is for. Nobody outside a laboratory. See the 5-amino-1MQ profile.

7. MOTS-c: mouse data and a committee vote

What it is. A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA that acts on skeletal muscle metabolism through AMPK.

The evidence. In mice, MOTS-c treatment prevented age-related and diet-induced insulin resistance and diet-induced obesity (Lee 2015). Exercise raises the body's own MOTS-c in humans, which is the basis for the "exercise mimetic" label. No trial of MOTS-c injections in humans is indexed in PubMed; the human papers measure circulating levels.

Grade D.

Legal status. Category 2 in 2023, removed from that list in April 2026, and recommended for the permitted list by FDA's advisory committee on a 7 to 5 vote in July 2026 over the objection of FDA's reviewers. Nothing changes until FDA completes rulemaking, which it had not as of October 2026; no pharmacy may compound it. Clinics advertising "FDA-approved for compounding" MOTS-c are wrong on both words.

Who it is for. Trial participants, if a trial ever runs. The MOTS-c profile covers the longevity claims as well.

8. CJC-1295 with ipamorelin: no weight data at all

What it is. A long-acting growth hormone-releasing hormone analog (CJC-1295) paired with a selective ghrelin-receptor agonist (ipamorelin), sold as a "GH stack" for fat loss, muscle and sleep.

The evidence. In healthy adults aged 21 to 61, single doses of CJC-1295 raised growth hormone two- to tenfold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to threefold for nine to eleven days (Teichman 2006). That is a hormone-response study, not an outcome study; no trial of either compound, or the pair, has measured body weight or fat mass in people, and a 2026 review describes human safety data for the stack as scarce (Mendias 2026). Raising growth hormone is a mechanism, not a result; growth hormone itself, in healthy older adults, produced about two kilograms of fat loss at the cost of edema, joint pain and glucose problems in the trials summarized in our sermorelin profile.

Grade D for weight loss.

Legal status. Both were placed in Category 2 in 2023 as potential safety risks; FDA's advisory committee voted 12 to 0 against ipamorelin, with one abstention, in October 2024 and 13 to 0 against CJC-1295 (12 to 1 for its acetate form) in December 2024, and FDA proposes not to list either. No US pharmacy may compound them; every vial is a research vial.

Who it is for. The CJC-1295 and ipamorelin profile explains why this remains the most-sold and least-supported stack in the market. For muscle during weight loss, see best peptides for muscle growth.

9. Sermorelin: prescribable, but not for weight

What it is. The first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone, formerly an approved pediatric drug (Geref), now compounded for adults.

The evidence. Small 1990s trials show it raises overnight growth hormone output in older adults, with inconsistent IGF-1 changes and small, mixed effects on strength. No trial has measured weight or fat loss as an outcome, and our PubMed search found no sermorelin obesity trial of any size. Clinics prescribe it alongside GLP-1 drugs "to protect muscle"; that combination has never been studied.

Grade D for weight loss.

Legal status. Compoundable on prescription from a state-licensed pharmacy, because it is the active ingredient of a formerly approved drug and is not in Category 2. It ranks above the four compounds before it only because a legal, labeled version exists.

Cost. $150 to $400 a month through telehealth.

Who it is for. A symptomatic adult with low IGF-1 and a clinician who measures it, for the reasons in the sermorelin profile; not someone trying to lose weight.

Unranked: retatrutide, the drug that would win

Retatrutide, Lilly's triple GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist, produced 25.0% mean weight loss at 80 weeks by intention to treat in TRIUMPH-1, a phase 3 trial of 2,339 adults with obesity, with less knee pain and fewer sleep-apnea events in the relevant subgroups (Jastreboff 2026). On evidence alone it would sit at the top of this page. It is unranked because it does not exist as a product: it is not approved anywhere, Lilly plans to file with FDA in the first quarter of 2027, no pharmacy may compound it, and the "reta" vials sold online were the subject of FDA warning letters in March and August 2026. The retatrutide profile covers the trials, the timeline and the risks of the gray-market version.

What we excluded and why

• Collagen peptides. A protein supplement digested like any other protein; not a drug, not a signal, and not what this page is about.
• BPC-157, TB-500 and the healing stacks. Marketed for injuries and gut health, sometimes bundled into "GLOW" fat-loss stacks; no weight data, and none can be legally compounded in October 2026 despite the July 2026 advisory votes. See the GLOW and KLOW stack page.
• Human growth hormone. Not a peptide in the marketing sense, modestly effective for fat loss in older adults at the cost of real side effects, and a federal crime to distribute for anti-aging or weight loss under 21 U.S.C. 333(e).
• Melanotan II. Sold as a tanning injection with appetite-suppression claims; no weight trial, off Category 2 since April 2026, still not compoundable, and under advisory review in early 2027.
• Cagrilintide and CagriSema, survodutide, mazdutide. Investigational peptides in late-stage trials; survodutide and mazdutide vials appeared in FDA's August 2026 warning letters. Same category as retatrutide: unavailable by any legal route.
• Orforglipron (Foundayo). An oral GLP-1 receptor agonist approved by FDA in 2026 for chronic weight management, taken once daily and titrated from 0.8 mg up to as much as 17.2 mg according to its label (Foundayo label). It is excluded from this ranking only because it is a small molecule, not a peptide; for people who want a GLP-1 without injections, it and the Wegovy tablet are the prescription options to ask about.
• "Oral peptides for weight loss." Apart from the semaglutide tablet, every oral peptide product sold for weight loss is digested in the stomach; AOD-9604 was itself tested orally and did not deliver.
• Peptide stacks. No combination of anything on this page has been tested together; a stack adds the unknowns of each component.

Peptides for weight loss in women

The two drugs at the top of this ranking were tested mostly in women: 78.5% of the liraglutide SCALE trial participants were women (Pi-Sunyer 2015), and women were the majority of the STEP and SURMOUNT trials as well, so the results apply directly. Three sex-specific points. Hair loss during rapid weight loss affected women far more than men in the Zepbound and Wegovy trials (7.1% versus 0.5% on Zepbound) and is usually temporary. Both drugs must be stopped in pregnancy, and semaglutide two months before trying, because it stays in the body for five to seven weeks; tirzepatide reduces the reliability of oral contraceptives for four weeks after starting and after each dose increase. And the "women's fat-loss peptides" sold online (AOD-9604, 5-amino-1MQ, MOTS-c) have no female-specific data because they have no human data. Our peptides for women guide covers the rest.

How to get it

1. A clinician licensed in your state, who screens for thyroid cancer history, pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, diabetes medications, kidney function and pregnancy plans, and who will see you through 16 to 20 weeks of dose escalation and beyond.
2. The brand GLP-1 first. With a prescription, Wegovy and Zepbound are available at retail pharmacies through insurance and for cash through NovoCare ($349; $199 for the first two fills), LillyDirect ($299 to $449) and the TrumpRx listings. At the lower doses the compounded discount is now small, and the brand pen removes the unit-conversion errors that FDA has logged with compounded vials.
3. Compounded GLP-1 only with a reason. A legitimate compounded prescription in 2026 names a patient-specific need the brand cannot meet, names the state-licensed 503A pharmacy, and comes with a label stating the concentration and the dose in milligrams and units.
4. Tesamorelin through a clinician who measures. It is legal as the brand, Egrifta, not as a compounded product; a baseline IGF-1 and glucose, a visceral-fat problem worth treating, and follow-up are what separate a prescription from a subscription.
5. Nothing below rank four from anyone. AOD-9604, 5-amino-1MQ, MOTS-c and CJC-1295 with ipamorelin have no legal version in October 2026. A clinic that sells them is selling research vials, and FDA's 2026 warning letters to five vendors said research labels do not change what they are. We do not name or link to sellers.

Questions worth asking any program: which pharmacy, in which state, under what legal basis; what is the concentration on the label; what will be measured and when; and what happens to the price at the maintenance dose.

Bottom line

Rank peptides for weight loss by evidence and legality and the list writes itself: tirzepatide, then semaglutide, with liraglutide and tesamorelin as the specialized third and fourth, and nothing else with a human result worth paying for. The compounds that dominate the "fat-loss peptide" market have mouse data, failed trials or no data, and most of them cannot be legally made by any US pharmacy. Retatrutide will change the top of the list when it is approved, probably not before late 2027. Until then, the best peptide for weight loss is the one with a label, a pharmacy and a clinician attached, and in October 2026 that means a GLP-1 drug prescribed the ordinary way.

Frequently asked questions

+−Will peptides make you lose weight?

Two of them will, reliably, and they are prescription drugs: tirzepatide (15 to 21% of body weight over 72 weeks in its pivotal trial) and semaglutide (about 15% over 68 weeks). Liraglutide, an older daily GLP-1 drug, produces less (about 8 kg over 56 weeks). Tesamorelin reduces visceral belly fat without changing total weight much. Every other peptide marketed for fat loss, including AOD-9604, MOTS-c, CJC-1295 with ipamorelin and sermorelin, has no human trial showing weight loss, and most of them cannot be legally made by any US pharmacy.

+−What is the best peptide for weight loss?

Tirzepatide. In the only head-to-head trial in adults with obesity without diabetes, it produced 20.2% weight loss at 72 weeks against 13.7% for semaglutide, and it is FDA-approved (Zepbound, Mounjaro) and available from a licensed clinician. Semaglutide is a close second and has something tirzepatide does not: proof that it reduces heart attacks and strokes in people with heart disease. Retatrutide will likely rank above both once approved, but in October 2026 it is investigational and unavailable.

+−Is tesamorelin the same as Ozempic?

No. Ozempic is semaglutide, a GLP-1 drug that reduces appetite and produces about 15% total weight loss at the obesity dose. Tesamorelin is a growth hormone-releasing hormone analog approved as Egrifta for abdominal fat in people with HIV; it reduced visceral fat by about 15% over 26 weeks while leaving subcutaneous fat and total weight largely unchanged. One is a weight-loss drug; the other is a visceral-fat drug with a narrow approval.

+−What is the best peptide combination for weight loss?

No combination has been tested in a weight-loss trial. The stacks sold online (a GLP-1 plus CJC-1295 and ipamorelin to 'preserve muscle', or AOD-9604 with MOTS-c for 'fat burning') combine one drug with evidence and one or more compounds without any, and the add-ons usually cannot be legally compounded. If a clinician wants to address muscle during GLP-1 treatment, the evidence-based tools are resistance training, protein and dose pacing, not a second peptide.

+−How much peptide should you take for weight loss?

The only doses with evidence are the FDA label schedules: semaglutide escalated from 0.25 mg a week to 2.4 mg over 16 weeks, tirzepatide from 2.5 mg to 5, 10 or 15 mg in four-week steps, liraglutide from 0.6 mg a day to 3 mg. Tesamorelin was studied at 2 mg a day. For everything else on this page there is no human dose with evidence behind it, and we do not publish the charts sellers circulate. Your pharmacy label, not a website, sets your dose.

+−Can CJC-1295/ipamorelin and a GLP-1 be used together?

There is no trial of the combination and no safety data for it. CJC-1295 and ipamorelin raise growth hormone and IGF-1 in small pharmacology studies but have never been shown to change body weight or preserve muscle during weight loss, and neither can be legally compounded in the United States (FDA's advisory committee voted 12 to 0 against ipamorelin, with one abstention, in 2024 and 13 to 0 against CJC-1295, 12 to 1 for its acetate form). A clinic offering the combination is pairing a prescription drug with a research vial.

+−How quickly do peptides work for weight loss?

With the GLP-1 drugs, appetite changes within the first weeks, but the dose is escalated over 16 to 20 weeks and most of the weight loss accrues over a year or more; the pivotal trials report their main results at 68 to 80 weeks. Anyone promising visible results in two weeks from a 'fat-loss peptide' is describing water loss, nausea, or nothing.

+−Are there oral peptides for weight loss?

One: semaglutide tablets (the Wegovy pill, 25 mg daily at maintenance), which use an absorption enhancer to survive the stomach. Every other 'oral peptide' sold for weight loss is a supplement or research product that is digested like food; AOD-9604 was in fact tested as an oral tablet in the 2000s and its sponsor reported that the weight-loss effect seen early was not seen in the final study. Collagen peptides are a protein supplement, not a weight-loss drug.

+−What is the best peptide for female fat loss?

The same two drugs. Women were the majority in every pivotal GLP-1 trial (78.5% of the liraglutide SCALE trial, for example), and the results apply to them. Two sex-specific points matter: hair loss during rapid weight loss affected women far more than men in the Zepbound and Wegovy trials, and both drugs must be stopped in pregnancy (semaglutide two months before trying), with tirzepatide reducing the reliability of oral contraceptives for four weeks after each dose increase.

+−Are peptides safe for weight loss?

The approved ones have the best safety data of any weight-loss drug, and real risks: nausea and vomiting in a quarter to nearly half of patients during escalation, gallbladder disease, rare pancreatitis, and a contraindication for anyone with a history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2. The unapproved ones have no human safety data at all, and the vials have no verified content. The safety question is never about 'peptides'; it is about which compound, from which source, with whom watching.

Sources

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2. StudyWilding JPH et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 1). N Engl J Med 2021;384:989-1002. (2021)
3. StudyAronne LJ et al. Tirzepatide as compared with semaglutide for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-5). N Engl J Med 2025;393:26-36. (2025)
4. StudyPi-Sunyer X et al. A randomized, controlled trial of 3.0 mg of liraglutide in weight management (SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes). N Engl J Med 2015;373:11-22. (2015)
5. StudyFalutz J et al. Metabolic effects of a growth hormone-releasing factor in patients with HIV. N Engl J Med 2007;357:2359-70. (2007)
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8. StudyHeffernan MA et al. Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment (AOD9604). Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001;25:1442-9. (2001)
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10. StudyNeelakantan H et al. Selective and membrane-permeable small molecule inhibitors of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase reverse high fat diet-induced obesity in mice. Biochem Pharmacol 2018;147:141-52. (2018)
11. StudyLee C et al. The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance. Cell Metab 2015;21:443-54. (2015)
12. StudyTeichman SL et al. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:799-805. (2006)
13. StudyJastreboff AM et al. Retatrutide, a triple hormone receptor agonist, for treatment of obesity (TRIUMPH-1). N Engl J Med 2026; published online September 29, 2026. (2026)
14. ReviewMendias CL, Awan TM. Safety and efficacy of approved and unapproved peptide therapies for musculoskeletal injuries and athletic performance. Sports Med 2026;56:1921-35. (2026)
15. RegulatoryFDA. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding may present significant safety risks (Category 2 list).