# UBT251 Triple Agonist: First-in-Human 12-Week Weight Loss Trial | This GLP A phase 1 study of the GLP-1/GIP/glucagon agonist UBT251 reported mean losses of 8.96 to 13.48 kg in 12 weeks against a 1.57 kg gain on placebo. Publisher: This GLP Editorial Team Canonical: https://thisglp.com/research/triple-agonist-first-in-human Updated: 2026-09-18 Published: 2026-09-16 [← Research](https://thisglp.com/research) Evidence # UBT251 Triple Agonist: First-in-Human 12-Week Weight Loss Trial The GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptor agonist UBT251 produced large early weight loss in its first human study. The 12-week clock is why that number cannot be set beside the drugs you can buy. [This GLP Editorial Team](https://thisglp.com/about)September 20266 min readUpdated September 2026 Mean weight change over 12 weeks · 0 · UBT251 · 8.96 to 13.48 kg lost · placebo · 1.57 kg gained · Twelve weeks. The trials you know about ran sixty-eight. **Research, not medical advice.** This GLP is independent and educational. Nothing here is a substitute for individualized care from a licensed clinician, and reading it creates no doctor–patient relationship. Talk to your own provider before starting, stopping, or changing any medication, peptide, or therapy. See our [methodology](https://thisglp.com/methodology) and [terms](https://thisglp.com/terms). ## Key takeaways - UBT251 targets three receptors at once: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. - In a first-in-human study, weekly doses of 1, 3 and 6 mg for 12 weeks produced mean losses of 8.96 to 13.48 kg. - Placebo gained 1.57 kg over the same period. - Safety and tolerability were the primary endpoints. Weight was a secondary readout. - Twelve weeks is not comparable to the 68-week trials that produced the figures people quote for semaglutide. A number this large, this early, is going to be quoted against drugs people can actually buy. The comparison does not work, and the reason is worth understanding before the headline arrives — it is the same problem as [reading an early-phase result as a verdict](https://thisglp.com/research/do-glp1-drugs-help-hidradenitis-suppurativa). ## What was tested UBT251 is a peptide that activates the GLP-1 receptor, the GIP receptor and the glucagon receptor together. This was its first study in humans: a single-dose escalation from 0.1 to 4.5 mg, then a multiple-dose arm giving weekly injections for twelve weeks to participants with overweight or obesity and no diabetes. [\[1\]](https://thisglp.com/research/triple-agonist-first-in-human#ref-1) Safety and tolerability were the primary endpoints, which is what a Phase 1 study is for. The common adverse effects were laboratory findings, reduced appetite and gastrointestinal events — the familiar list for this class. ## The weight numbers At 1, 3 and 6 mg weekly, mean body weight fell between 8.96 and 13.48 kg over twelve weeks. The placebo group gained 1.57 kg, so the gap against placebo is larger than the drug figure by itself. Pharmacokinetics were roughly linear from 1.0 to 6.0 mg, and fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1c and lipids all improved. Why you cannot line this up against semaglutide The weight-loss curve for these drugs is steepest at the start and flattens as the months go on, so twelve weeks captures the fast part and nothing else. The 68-week trials that produced the semaglutide and tirzepatide figures include the flat part, where most of the difference between agents actually shows up. Putting a twelve-week number beside a sixty-eight-week number compares two different segments of two different curves. ## What is not in the abstract How many people were in each dose arm. The indexed record does not say, and a dose-escalation cohort is normally a handful of participants per level rather than the hundreds a later trial enrolls. That is the ordinary shape of first-in-human work, not a criticism of it. It does mean a mean weight change carries a wide uncertainty nobody has published here, which is the difference between [a result you can price](https://thisglp.com/research/semaglutide-cochrane-review) and one you cannot. ## Nobody can buy it UBT251 is not approved. This study was registered in China and the paper supports continued development, which is a long way from a prescription. The practical value of reading it now is calibration for the next announcement. A triple agonist adding a glucagon target is a real mechanistic step, and whether a third receptor translates into more weight lost at a dose people tolerate is exactly the question [dose-response data](https://thisglp.com/research/is-a-higher-semaglutide-dose-worth-it) has to answer — the same test [every new entrant](https://thisglp.com/research/what-is-orforglipron) faces on its way to a pharmacy. ## Frequently asked How much weight did people lose on UBT251? A mean of 8.96 to 13.48 kg across the 1, 3 and 6 mg weekly doses over twelve weeks, while the placebo group gained 1.57 kg. Is that better than semaglutide? The study cannot say. Weight loss is fastest in the first months, and the semaglutide figures people quote come from 68-week trials. Twelve weeks and sixty-eight weeks measure different parts of the curve. Can I get it? No. UBT251 is an investigational drug with no approval anywhere, studied here for the first time in humans. What does a triple agonist do differently? It activates the glucagon receptor as well as GLP-1 and GIP. Whether that third target adds weight loss at a tolerable dose is what later trials have to establish. ## Sources 1. \[1\] Yang GP, et al. (2026). Safety, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of the GLP-1/GIP/GCG Receptor Agonist UBT251 Injection: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 1a/1b Study Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. [PMID 42712041](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42712041/) ## Where to get it ### Best GLP-1 injections Every injectable seller we can verify, with the price each one publishes and an honest read of what the trials measured. [Compare providers →](https://thisglp.com/best/compounded-semaglutide) ## More in Evidence - [ 150 minutes · Weekly activity goal · 2 days · Muscle strengthening · Adapt · Symptoms and ability ### Exercise on Ozempic: Building Strength Without Ignoring Symptoms ](https://thisglp.com/research/exercise-on-ozempic) - [ STEP 1, semaglutide 2.4 mg vs placebo, % change at 68 weeks · LDL cholesterol · −2.5% vs +1.3% · Total cholesterol · −3.3% vs +0.1% · HDL cholesterol · +5.2% vs +1.4% · Triglycerides · −21.9% vs −7.3% · Wegovy label, Table 13. Adults without diabetes. Ozempic doses are lower. ### Does Ozempic Lower Cholesterol? What the Lipid Results in the Trials Show ](https://thisglp.com/research/does-ozempic-lower-cholesterol) - [ Where the insulin reduction came from, units per day · week 4 · 13.4 total · week 26 · 21.9 · the drug itself · the weight loss · The drug’s own contribution barely moved: 11.1 then 11.4. · Everything added between weeks 4 and 26 came from weight. ### Does Semaglutide Help Type 1 Diabetes? What Two Small Trials Found ](https://thisglp.com/research/semaglutide-in-type-1-diabetes)