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Metabolic & GLP-1Evidence B2 cited

Ecnoglutide

aka biased GLP-1 agonist · XW003

Biased GLP-1 receptor agonist. Selectively activates cAMP over beta-arrestin reducing GI side effects.

Molecular wt
4285g/mol
Formula
C194H304N48O61
CAS
2459531-73-6
PubChem
162625103

Sequence

Read this before quoting the sequence
A GLP-1 analogue. Guo et al. 2023 (the discovery paper, PMID 37364710) describe it as a GLP-1 peptide analogue carrying an alanine-to-valine substitution at position 8 (Ala8Val) and a gamma-Glu-2xAEEA-linked C18 diacid fatty-acid side chain. PubChem CID 162625103 carries a depositor-supplied residue string ('His-Val-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Val-Ser-Ser-Tyr--Leu-Glu-Glu-Gln-Ala-Ala-Arg-Glu-Phe-Ile-(17-((S)-5-Hydroxy-4-(18-hydroxy-18-oxooctadecanamido)-5-oxopentanamido)-10-oxo-3,6,12,15-tetraoxa-9-azaheptadecanoyl)Lys-Trp-Leu-Val-Arg-Gly-Arg-Gly') but that string contains an evident formatting artifact (a double hyphen with an apparently dropped residue), so it is not reproduced here as a verified sequence. A clean, verified residue-by-residue sequence could not be obtained from a source I retrieved.
Source ↗

Mechanism of action

cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist (XW003): preferentially drives Gs/cAMP signalling with reduced beta-arrestin recruitment, aiming for efficacy with fewer GI effects. Increases glucose-dependent insulin release and reduces appetite.

What the evidence actually shows

Grade B

Phase 3 completed in China. Published Lancet Diabetes Endocrinology 2025.

Regulatory status

Status
Approved in China. Approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for adult type 2 diabetes, and on 6 March 2026 for chronic weight management in Chinese adults with overweight or obesity. Not approved in the US or EU.
Approved as
Ecnoglutide injection (developer code XW003; Sciwind Biosciences). Described in the approval announcement as 'the world's first approved cAMP-biased GLP-1RA for weight management'.
Clinical stage
Approved in China for two indications; multiple further phase 2 and phase 3 trials ongoing (e.g. NCT05680155, NCT05813795 and NCT05680129 completed phase 3; NCT07387094 and NCT07434050 recruiting phase 3 in obesity with obstructive sleep apnoea). An oral formulation (VRB-101/XW004) is in phase 1-2.
WADA
Not named on the WADA 2026 Prohibited List; no GLP-1 receptor agonist appears in the sections retrieved (S0, S2, S4).
Source ↗

Dosing — what backs each figure

Ecnoglutide (XW003) is an investigational cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist with completed phase 3 programmes in China: 1.2-2.4 mg once weekly subcutaneously for obesity, and 0.6-1.2 mg once weekly (titrated from 0.3 mg in 4-weekly doubling steps) for type 2 diabetes. It is not approved by FDA, EMA or MHRA, and dosing is continuous rather than cycled.

ClinicalApproved labelling or a published human trial

  • 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg or 2.4 mg subcutaneously once weekly for 40 weeks (three separate dose cohorts vs matched placebo)

    adults 18-75 with overweight or obesity (BMI >=28, or >=24 with weight-related comorbidity) without diabetes; n=664 at 36 centres in China · subcutaneous

    Phase 3 obesity trial, Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2025 (NCT05813795) ↗

  • 0.6 mg or 1.2 mg once weekly subcutaneously, reached by titration starting at 0.3 mg with fixed double-dose increments every 4 weeks (maintenance at week 4 for 0.6 mg, week 8 for 1.2 mg); 24-week double-blind period plus 28-week open-label extension

    adults 18-75 with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on diet/exercise or a single oral agent; n=211 (EECOH-1) · subcutaneous

    EECOH-1 phase 3 trial, Nature Communications 2025 (NCT05680155) ↗

  • Phase 2 randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of once-weekly subcutaneous ecnoglutide in type 2 diabetes

    adults with type 2 diabetes · subcutaneous

    Phase 2 T2D trial, 2024 ↗

Handling and storage

No compound-specific stability data exists
Ecnoglutide is approved in China only; the NMPA-approved Chinese prescribing information was not retrievable, and no FDA or EMA label exists. No compound-specific storage specification could therefore be verified. It is supplied as a solution for subcutaneous injection rather than a lyophilised research vial. General peptide handling still applies — reconstitute gently, keep it cold, keep it dark — but any specific figure you see quoted for this compound elsewhere is someone's assumption, not a measurement.
→ Reconstitution walkthrough→ Reconstitution calculator

Safety

References (2)

Data provenance

Chemistry and citations on this page were checked against primary sources on 2026-08-14. Values that could not be verified were left blank rather than filled with a plausible guess.

Could not verify
sequence, storage, reconstitution

Research use only
This profile is educational reference material. It is not medical advice, not a prescription, and not an endorsement of self-administration. Compounds discussed here are research chemicals and most are not approved for human therapeutic use.

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