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Home / Encyclopedia / GLP-1 & Weight / Ecnoglutide
MONOGRAPH No. 115
EVIDENCE BASEStrong
TYPE
GLP-1 agonist (cAMP-biased)
MW
Peptide (undisclosed)
CAS
Not assigned
EU STATUS
Approved in China (2026) · Not approved in EU
WADA
Not listed
MIN PURITY
≥98% HPLC
⚖ GLP-1 & Weight

Ecnoglutide — EU research guide.

Ecnoglutide (XW003) is Sciwind Biosciences' cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist, approved in China in 2026 for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management; not approved in the EU.

Last reviewed:

What is Ecnoglutide?

Ecnoglutide is engineered to favour cAMP signalling over β-arrestin recruitment at the GLP-1 receptor, a “biased agonism” approach intended to improve the glucose- and weight-lowering effect relative to older GLP-1 analogues, dosed once weekly.

What does the research show?

Phase 3 trials in China (EECOH-2 versus dulaglutide in type 2 diabetes; the SLIMMER obesity trial versus placebo) have been completed. China's NMPA approved ecnoglutide for type 2 diabetes in January 2026 and for chronic weight management in March 2026; no EU or US approval or filing has been identified.

EU legal status

Not approved in the EU. Ecnoglutide's approvals and clinical programme are centred on China; it has no legitimate EU consumer or research-supply route, and material sold as “ecnoglutide” in the EU gray market cannot be authenticated.

⚠ Approved in China only (2026). Not EMA/FDA-approved. No human use outside authorised trials.
✓ For approved GLP-1 mechanisms, PeptideCompare tracks semaglutide, liraglutide and tirzepatide from EU research vendors with COA documentation.
EVIDENCE SUMMARY
STRONG
Weight management in overweight or obesity (phase 3, SLIMMER) — In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial in 664 adults in China, mean weight reductions across the three dose levels were 9.1% to 13.2% versus 0.1% with placebo, and 77% to 87% of treated participants lost at least 5% of body weight versus 16% with placebo. Adverse events were mostly mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal events (93% versus 84% with placebo). The sponsor reports 15.4% weight loss at the highest dose after 48 weeks.
STRONG
Type 2 diabetes (phase 3, EECOH-1 and EECOH-2) — In EECOH-2 (621 adults on metformin, 52 weeks, open-label), ecnoglutide was non-inferior to dulaglutide for HbA1c at week 32, with reductions of 1.91% and 1.89% versus 1.65%, and 3% to 4% stopped because of adverse events. In EECOH-1 (211 adults, 24 weeks, placebo-controlled), HbA1c fell by 1.96% and 2.43% versus 0.87% with placebo. Adverse events were mainly gastrointestinal.
LIMITED
Regulatory status and limits of the evidence — China's NMPA approved ecnoglutide for type 2 diabetes (30 January 2026) and for chronic weight management (6 March 2026); no EMA or FDA approval was found. The pivotal trials enrolled participants in China only, and a head-to-head comparison with semaglutide (SLIMMER-UP-SWITCH, 163 adults) has so far been shown only as a conference poster and sponsor announcement (interim week-20 analysis: 12.8% versus 9.5% weight loss).

Molecular information

Molecular weight
Peptide (undisclosed)
CAS number
Not assigned

Pharmacokinetics

Half-life (t½)
≈ 124–138 h
Source: Guo et al., Mol Metab 2023 (phase 1, half-life at steady state 124–138 h; the mid-point 131 h is plotted)
Steady-state half-life from a phase 1 study of 64 participants; it supports the once-weekly schedule used in the trials.

Potency retained over time

Each line is one storage condition: it starts at 100% and falls as potency is lost. Above the dashed 80% line the material is considered reliable — hover for exact values.

Freezer −20 °C
36+ mo
Stable · >95% potency
Fridge 4 °C
4-6 mo
In use · after recon
Room 20 °C
2-3 wks
Limited · moderate loss
Warm 37 °C+
<1 day
Critical · rapid degradation

⚠ Modelled per compound from molecular structure — chain length, cyclisation, oxidation- and deamidation-prone residues and light sensitivity. Indicative only, not lab-measured per batch.

GLP-1 compounds across EU suppliers

COA-verified EU vendors · Updated monthly

References

  1. Peer-reviewed report of the phase 3 obesity trial (664 adults in China, placebo-controlled). It supports weight loss in this population, but it does not cover other populations or long-term outcomes. Ji L, Gao L, Xue H, et al. 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. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025;13(9):777-789. DOIPubMed 40555243
  2. Peer-reviewed phase 3 trial against dulaglutide in type 2 diabetes on metformin (621 adults, 52 weeks, open-label). It shows non-inferiority; how much the small HbA1c difference matters clinically is debated. He Y, Mi N, Cheng Z, et al. Efficacy and safety of cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist ecnoglutide versus dulaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and elevated glucose concentrations on metformin monotherapy (EECOH-2): a 52-week, multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2025;13(10):863-873. DOIPubMed 40854315
  3. Peer-reviewed phase 3 monotherapy trial versus placebo in type 2 diabetes (211 adults, 24 weeks), with Chinese centres only. Zhu D, Wang W, Tong G, et al. Efficacy and safety of cAMP signalling-biased GLP-1 analogue ecnoglutide monotherapy versus placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes (EECOH-1): a multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Nat Commun. 2026;17:1420. DOIPubMed 41501026
  4. Discovery paper: describes the design (an alanine-to-valine substitution and a C18 fatty acid modification), the cAMP bias, animal comparisons with semaglutide and a phase 1 study (64 participants) with a steady-state half-life of 124 to 138 hours. It includes sponsor-affiliated authors. Guo W, Xu Z, Zou H, et al. Discovery of ecnoglutide - A novel, long-acting, cAMP-biased glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog. Mol Metab. 2023;75:101762. DOIPubMed 37364710
  5. Review in the Drugs 'First Approvals' series: confirms the Chinese approvals (type 2 diabetes in January 2026, weight management in March 2026) and reports no human pharmacokinetic data. It covers China only. Shirley M. Ecnoglutide: First Approvals. Drugs. 2026;86:1563-1570. DOIPubMed 42412371
  6. Sponsor announcement of the Chinese approval for weight management with headline SLIMMER figures. It is a company statement and does not describe approval elsewhere. Research vials sold online are not the licensed Chinese medicine. Sciwind Biosciences. Sciwind Biosciences Announces Ecnoglutide Injection Approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for Chronic Weight Management. Press release; 6 March 2026. Source

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