# What Is Ecnoglutide? A Phase 3 Result You Cannot Compare to the Others | This GLP A phase 3 trial of ecnoglutide in 664 Chinese adults found 13.2% weight loss at week 40 against 0.1% on placebo | and entry criteria well below Western obesity trials. Publisher: This GLP Editorial Team Canonical: https://thisglp.com/research/what-is-ecnoglutide Updated: 2026-09-17 Published: 2026-09-17 [← Research](https://thisglp.com/research) Evidence # What Is Ecnoglutide? A Phase 3 Result You Cannot Compare to the Others A GLP-1 drug engineered to favor one signaling pathway reached phase 3 and took off 13.2% at week 40. Its entry criteria mean the percentage is not comparable to the ones you have seen. [This GLP Editorial Team](https://thisglp.com/about)September 20267 min read Weight lost at week 40 · 2.4 mg · 13.2% · 1.8 mg · 10.9% · 1.2 mg · 9.1% · placebo · 0.1% · 664 adults in China. Entry BMI ≥ 28, or ≥ 24 with a comorbidity. **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 - Ecnoglutide, a cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist, was tested against placebo in 664 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes, at 36 centers in China. - At week 40, weight fell 13.2% on the 2.4 mg dose against 0.1% on placebo — a treatment difference of -13.3% (97% CI -15.3 to -11.3). - 87% of the 2.4 mg group lost at least 5% of their weight, against 16% on placebo. - Entry required a BMI of 28, or 24 with a comorbidity — thresholds well below those used in the Western trials, so the percentages are not directly comparable. Ecnoglutide is a once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist engineered to favor one signaling pathway, and it is not approved or sold outside China. In its phase 3 trial, weight fell 13.2% at week 40 on the 2.4 mg dose against 0.1% on placebo [\[1\]](https://thisglp.com/research/what-is-ecnoglutide#ref-1). It appeared first as one of the thinly evidenced agents in a network meta-analysis of drugs for overweight and obesity[\[2\]](https://thisglp.com/research/what-is-ecnoglutide#ref-2). This site reads that analysis in [the network meta-analysis of nineteen drugs](https://thisglp.com/research/the-best-losers-are-the-worst-tolerated). It now has a completed trial behind it. It is described as a cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist. The engineering favors one downstream signaling pathway over another, with the intention of separating the metabolic effects from the gastrointestinal ones. Whether that worked is the interesting question, and the trial provides a partial answer. On weight it performed well. Across 664 randomized adults at 36 Chinese centers, week-40 weight loss was 9.1%, 10.9% and 13.2% at the three doses against 0.1% on placebo. The top dose gave a treatment difference of -13.3% (97% CI -15.3 to -11.3). Eighty-seven percent of that group lost at least 5% of their body weight, against 16% on placebo. These percentages are not comparable to the ones you know Eligibility required a BMI of 28 or above, or 24 or above with a weight-related condition. The Western obesity trials use 30, or 27 with a comorbidity. A trial starting from a lighter population is not measuring the same thing when it reports a percentage, and comparing 13.2% here against a figure from SURMOUNT or STEP would be comparing different denominators in different bodies. Ecnoglutide is also not approved or available outside China. On tolerability the picture is less distinctive than the design promised. Treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 93% of each ecnoglutide group against 84% on placebo, most commonly mild to moderate gastrointestinal events, and ten participants stopped because of them. That is broadly the profile of the existing drugs rather than an escape from it. Tolerability is what drives most discontinuation in this class, as [titration and nausea](https://thisglp.com/research/how-long-does-nausea-last-on-a-glp1) describes. The trial was funded by Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences, which makes the drug. That is ordinary for a phase 3 trial and worth stating rather than implying. Almost every pivotal obesity trial is sponsor-funded, including the ones behind the drugs people take today. The thing to weigh is the follow-up rather than the funding. Forty weeks says nothing about year three, which is where the questions in [what these drugs do to muscle](https://thisglp.com/research/muscle-loss-on-glp1) and [the measured lunch](https://thisglp.com/research/how-much-less-do-you-eat-on-a-glp1) actually live. ## Frequently asked Can I get ecnoglutide? No. It is not approved or available outside China, and this trial was conducted entirely at Chinese centers. Is 13.2% better than what existing drugs achieve? Not comparable. This trial enrolled people at a BMI of 28, or 24 with a comorbidity, against 30 or 27 in the Western obesity trials, so the percentages are calculated from different starting points. Did the biased design reduce side effects? Not visibly. Treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 93% of each ecnoglutide group against 84% on placebo, mostly mild to moderate gastrointestinal events. ## Sources 1. \[1\] Ji L, Gao L, Xue H, Tian J, et al. (2025). Efficacy and safety of a biased GLP-1 receptor agonist ecnoglutide in adults with overweight or obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. [PMID 40555243](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40555243/) 2. \[2\] Nong K, Shi Q, Xie X, Wang Y, Agarwal A, Guyatt GH, et al. (2026). Comparative effects of drugs for adults with overweight or obesity: systematic review and network meta-analysis BMJ. [PMID 42419792](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42419792/) ## 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? 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