Long-acting GIPR agonist LY3537021 reduces body weight and fasting blood glucose in patients with T2D: Preclinical development and phase 1 randomized ascending dose studies
William Roell, Jorge Alsina-Fernandez, Hongchang Qu, Tamer Coskun, Charles Benson, Axel Haupt, Ronan P. Kelly, Libbey O'Farrell, Kyle W. Sloop, James P. Steele, James Ficorilli, Ajit Regmi, Mallikarjuna Rettiganti, Shweta Urva, Kieren J. Mather, Edward Pratt
{"title":"Long-acting GIPR agonist LY3537021 reduces body weight and fasting blood glucose in patients with T2D: Preclinical development and phase 1 randomized ascending dose studies","authors":"William Roell, Jorge Alsina-Fernandez, Hongchang Qu, Tamer Coskun, Charles Benson, Axel Haupt, Ronan P. Kelly, Libbey O'Farrell, Kyle W. Sloop, James P. Steele, James Ficorilli, Ajit Regmi, Mallikarjuna Rettiganti, Shweta Urva, Kieren J. Mather, Edward Pratt","doi":"10.1016/j.molmet.2025.102298","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Tirzepatide, a single-molecule dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (R) agonist, has shown superiority in the reduction of blood glucose and body weight, above selective GLP-1R agonists, but the contribution of GIP to these effects remains incompletely understood.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>To characterize the preclinical and in-human effects of a long-acting GIPR agonist monotherapy in healthy participants and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A long-acting GIPR agonist (LY3537021) was characterized <em>in vitro</em> and in Long-Evans diet-induced obese rats and Wistar rats. Next, a phase 1, randomized, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose (SAD)/multiple ascending dose (MAD) study explored the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of LY3537021 in healthy participants and participants with T2D in Singapore.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div><em>In vitro</em>, LY3537021 demonstrated potency greater than native GIP and selectivity for the GIPR. <em>In vivo</em> in rats, chronic treatment with LY3537021 resulted in weight loss and improved glycemic control during a glucose tolerance test. The phase 1 clinical study enrolled 85 healthy participants and patients with T2D (SAD, n = 47 [aged 25–64 years]; MAD, n = 38 [aged 25–69 years]; average baseline BMI was 25.9–27.0 kg/m<sup>2</sup> across the arms). During the MAD part, dose-dependent decreases in mean body weight were observed in all LY3537021 dose groups, regardless of T2D status, and persisted at 35 days after the last dose. For example, participants with T2D treated with 25 mg of LY3537021 lost a mean of 3.14 kg of body weight compared with 0.36 kg in the placebo group (p < 0.05) at day 57. Transient reductions in fasting glucose were observed in these participants, but the reductions were not sustained and not significantly different from placebo at day 29. The time to maximum observed drug concentrations varied across cohorts (8–96 h), and the half-life was estimated at approximately 12 days for non-T2D and T2D cohorts with the 25-mg dose, supporting once-weekly administration. There was no delay in gastric emptying following a single subcutaneous dose of 0.3–25 mg LY3537021. LY3537021 was well tolerated with infrequent gastrointestinal adverse events.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div><em>In vivo</em> studies demonstrated that LY3537021 reduced body weight and improved glycemia during a glucose challenge in rats. The phase 1 study demonstrated that the long-acting GIPR agonist LY3537021 was well tolerated, induced weight loss, and improved glucose control in humans. These observations better define the therapeutic benefit of long-acting GIPR agonists and support a distinct contribution of GIP agonism to the benefits observed with multi-agonist peptides that act via the GIPR. Future studies are needed in more diverse populations and in cohorts with overweight/obesity to confirm these findings.</div></div><div><h3>ClinicalTrials.gov</h3><div>NCT04586907.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18765,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Metabolism","volume":"103 ","pages":"Article 102298"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Molecular Metabolism","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212877825002054","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/12/12 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Tirzepatide, a single-molecule dual glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP)/glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor (R) agonist, has shown superiority in the reduction of blood glucose and body weight, above selective GLP-1R agonists, but the contribution of GIP to these effects remains incompletely understood.
Objectives
To characterize the preclinical and in-human effects of a long-acting GIPR agonist monotherapy in healthy participants and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Methods
A long-acting GIPR agonist (LY3537021) was characterized in vitro and in Long-Evans diet-induced obese rats and Wistar rats. Next, a phase 1, randomized, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose (SAD)/multiple ascending dose (MAD) study explored the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of LY3537021 in healthy participants and participants with T2D in Singapore.
Results
In vitro, LY3537021 demonstrated potency greater than native GIP and selectivity for the GIPR. In vivo in rats, chronic treatment with LY3537021 resulted in weight loss and improved glycemic control during a glucose tolerance test. The phase 1 clinical study enrolled 85 healthy participants and patients with T2D (SAD, n = 47 [aged 25–64 years]; MAD, n = 38 [aged 25–69 years]; average baseline BMI was 25.9–27.0 kg/m2 across the arms). During the MAD part, dose-dependent decreases in mean body weight were observed in all LY3537021 dose groups, regardless of T2D status, and persisted at 35 days after the last dose. For example, participants with T2D treated with 25 mg of LY3537021 lost a mean of 3.14 kg of body weight compared with 0.36 kg in the placebo group (p < 0.05) at day 57. Transient reductions in fasting glucose were observed in these participants, but the reductions were not sustained and not significantly different from placebo at day 29. The time to maximum observed drug concentrations varied across cohorts (8–96 h), and the half-life was estimated at approximately 12 days for non-T2D and T2D cohorts with the 25-mg dose, supporting once-weekly administration. There was no delay in gastric emptying following a single subcutaneous dose of 0.3–25 mg LY3537021. LY3537021 was well tolerated with infrequent gastrointestinal adverse events.
Conclusions
In vivo studies demonstrated that LY3537021 reduced body weight and improved glycemia during a glucose challenge in rats. The phase 1 study demonstrated that the long-acting GIPR agonist LY3537021 was well tolerated, induced weight loss, and improved glucose control in humans. These observations better define the therapeutic benefit of long-acting GIPR agonists and support a distinct contribution of GIP agonism to the benefits observed with multi-agonist peptides that act via the GIPR. Future studies are needed in more diverse populations and in cohorts with overweight/obesity to confirm these findings.
期刊介绍:
Molecular Metabolism is a leading journal dedicated to sharing groundbreaking discoveries in the field of energy homeostasis and the underlying factors of metabolic disorders. These disorders include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Our journal focuses on publishing research driven by hypotheses and conducted to the highest standards, aiming to provide a mechanistic understanding of energy homeostasis-related behavior, physiology, and dysfunction.
We promote interdisciplinary science, covering a broad range of approaches from molecules to humans throughout the lifespan. Our goal is to contribute to transformative research in metabolism, which has the potential to revolutionize the field. By enabling progress in the prognosis, prevention, and ultimately the cure of metabolic disorders and their long-term complications, our journal seeks to better the future of health and well-being.