Pemvidutide is an investigational once-weekly GLP-1/glucagon dual-receptor agonist being studied for obesity and metabolic liver disease. Human phase 2 and phase 2b results are available, but it is not approved.

Limited evidence. Review the research and limitations before relying on this record.

Pemvidutide is a peptide co-agonist intended to balance GLP-1-receptor signalling, which reduces appetite and improves glucose-dependent endocrine control, with glucagon-receptor signalling, which can increase hepatic fatty-acid oxidation and energy expenditure. Glucagon activity may also raise glucose or heart rate, so a proposed mechanistic advantage is not automatically a clinical advantage.

The molecule is lipidated to extend exposure and has been studied by weekly subcutaneous administration. Published efficacy trials support that interval but do not provide enough independently replicated pharmacokinetic detail to state a single dependable half-life here.

In a 94-participant randomised placebo-controlled phase 2 study in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, 12 weeks of pemvidutide reduced MRI-measured liver fat and body weight more than placebo. A later multicentre phase 2b study in biopsy-confirmed steatohepatitis reported 24-week histologic and metabolic outcomes. These remain intermediate-duration investigational results; no approval or cardiovascular-outcomes evidence exists.

Published trials describe gastrointestinal adverse effects consistent with incretin agonism and report changes in heart rate and liver-related biomarkers that require programme-level interpretation. Small phase 2 datasets cannot exclude uncommon events or establish long-term cardiovascular, pancreatic, gallbladder or hepatic safety. No regulator has approved this substance for the use described here, so there is no label-verified dose, purity standard, or safety monitoring requirement behind it.

This is a source-backed summary, not a recommendation. Read the mechanism, pharmacokinetic, human-evidence and reported-effect fields separately: a mechanism is not an outcome. Availability, legal status and product quality differ by jurisdiction; consult a qualified clinician.