Pemvidutide

Mechanism (as reported)

One randomized MASLD study describes pemvidutide as a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist. The study background contrasts GLP-1 receptor agonism (described as eliciting weight loss through centrally and peripherally mediated effects on appetite) with glucagon receptor agonism (described as acting directly on the liver to stimulate fatty acid oxidation and inhibit lipogenesis), proposing a potentially more potent mechanism for LFC reduction than weight loss alone. (PMID 39002641)

Key findings (each cites a source)

• In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled MASLD study, pemvidutide was tested and showed significant relative reductions in liver fat content at 12 weeks compared with placebo. [PMID 39002641]
• In the MASLD randomized trial, hepatic inflammation-related markers and body weight were reported to be reduced in pemvidutide-treated groups compared with placebo. [PMID 39002641]
• In the MASLD randomized trial, the study reported that pemvidutide was well-tolerated with no severe or serious adverse events. [PMID 39002641]
• In a double-blind extension of a randomized, placebo-controlled MASLD trial, continued pemvidutide treatment over 24 weeks resulted in relative reductions in liver fat content compared with placebo. [PMID 41113119]
• In the MASLD extension trial, pemvidutide over 24 weeks reduced body weight versus placebo and further improved liver fat content outcomes seen at 12 weeks. [PMID 41113119]
• In the MASLD extension trial, the study reported that most side effects incidences were low and that pemvidutide was well-tolerated at all tested doses. [PMID 41113119]
• A review article discussing anti-obesity medications reported that long-acting GLP-1/glucagon receptor dual agonists, including pemvidutide, exhibited significant weight loss in clinical trials. [PMID 39676791]
• A review on incretin peptides for type 2 diabetes and obesity described pemvidutide as a dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist among newer peptides in development. [PMID 40081498]
• A systematic survey of ClinicalTrials.gov reported identifying one trial for pemvidutide among GLP-1 receptor agonist interventions being evaluated for substance use disorders (SUD). [PMID 41696398]
• A regulatory/trial design discussion article on obesity therapy described pemvidutide as an example of an emerging anti-obesity therapy relevant to muscle-loss considerations and trial endpoints. [PMID 41362110]
• A pharmacokinetic principles study included pemvidutide and reported that systemic pharmacokinetic parameters for peptide drugs can be described using inter-species allometric relationships, with no differences in scaling exponents between unconjugated and fatty-acid conjugated peptides; pemvidutide was among the fatty-acid conjugated peptides included. [PMID 41661442]