Mazdutide

Scientists built mazdutide in the lab using oxyntomodulin, a hormone the gut makes naturally, as the template, then engineered it to flip on two separate hormone switches together, one tied to GLP-1 and one to glucagon; that dual action is why the field calls it a dual agonist. It has not reached approved-medicine status and is instead working through late-stage human testing, most often measured in published studies against semaglutide, a related hormone medicine that targets only one receptor.

What it is

Mazdutide is built to activate both the GLP-1 receptor, a gut hormone signal tied to appetite and blood sugar, and the glucagon receptor, tied to how the body burns energy, at the same time. This dual action distinguishes it from single target medicines and from tirzepatide, a related compound that instead pairs GLP-1 with a different hormone receptor called GIP.

The compound has moved through Phase 3 trials, the late stage of human testing typically required before a regulator will consider approval, in people with obesity and in people with type 2 diabetes. It has not received approval from any major regulator and remains classified as investigational.

How it is studied

Mazdutide has been tested in large, randomized, controlled human trials running roughly a year, comparing different weekly amounts against a placebo or against semaglutide, while tracking body weight, blood pressure, blood fat levels and blood sugar control.

What studies report

The first Phase 3 trial in people with obesity or who were overweight reported clinically meaningful weight loss with once weekly mazdutide compared with placebo, alongside a favorable safety profile. [1]
A trial testing a higher weekly amount over 60 weeks in adults with obesity reported an average weight reduction of about 20 percent, compared with under 3 percent for placebo, with nearly half of participants losing a fifth or more of their body weight. [2]
A randomized, open-label phase 3 trial comparing mazdutide with semaglutide head to head in Chinese adults with early type 2 diabetes and obesity enrolled 349 participants and completed in February 2026; the published record located for this entry covers only the trial's design and baseline characteristics, not its comparative results. [3]

What is not known

Mazdutide remains investigational and has not been approved by any regulator reviewed here. Long term safety beyond about a year of trial data is not established, how it performs outside a closely monitored trial setting is unknown, and effects on outcomes such as heart attack or stroke rates have not been reported in the citations reviewed for this entry.

Reported adverse findings

The two Phase 3 trials described here reported the overall safety profile as favorable, without detailing specific side effects in the summary available for this review. [1][2]

Regulatory status

Mazdutide is not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration or Health Canada. It remains an investigational drug moving through Phase 3 clinical trials.