Survodutide
Survodutide is an experimental drug that activates both glucagon and GLP-1 receptors. Boehringer Ingelheim develops it under a license from Zealand Pharma. It is injected under the skin and is in phase 3 trials for obesity, type 2 diabetes and MASH, a form of fatty liver disease. It is not approved anywhere.
Approval status
Not approved anywhere. Phase 3 results in obesity, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease were published in 2026, and Zealand Pharma said in May 2026 that they may support regulatory submissions in 2026. For MASH, the FDA has given it Breakthrough Therapy designation and the EMA has given it PRIME status.456789
What it’s used or studied for
- Human studies
Weight loss in adults with obesity or overweight without diabetes (SYNCHRONIZE-1 phase 3 trial).47
- Human studies
Weight loss and lower HbA1c in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes (SYNCHRONIZE-2 phase 3 trial).8
- Human studies
Less liver fat and lower weight in adults with obesity and fatty liver disease (SYNCHRONIZE-MASLD phase 3 trial).9
- Human studies
Improved MASH (fatty liver inflammation) without worsening liver scarring in a phase 2 biopsy trial; phase 3 MASH trials are ongoing.410
Each label shows how strong the evidence is: an approved use, human studies, animal or lab studies only, or a popular claim with no published studies. Being studied is not the same as being proven safe or effective.
Side effects
Common
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
There is no approved label; these come from trials. In SYNCHRONIZE-1, stomach and bowel symptoms affected 81% to 90% of people on survodutide versus 48% on placebo, mostly mild to moderate. Stopping because of side effects was more common while the dose was being raised.4710
Cautions
- FDA has warned companies that illegally sold survodutide falsely labeled “for research purposes” or “not for human consumption.”11
Sources
- KEGG DRUG: Survodutide (D12898)
- FDA Global Substance Registration System (GSRS): Survodutide
- Zimmermann T et al. BI 456906: discovery and preclinical pharmacology of a novel GCGR/GLP-1R dual agonist (Mol Metab, 2022)
- Boehringer Ingelheim: Results from Phase III SYNCHRONIZE-1 obesity trial, 28 April 2026
- Zealand Pharma: Q1 2026 results presentation, 7 May 2026
- WADA 2026 Prohibited List
- le Roux CW et al. Survodutide once weekly for the treatment of adults with obesity (SYNCHRONIZE-1) (N Engl J Med, 2026)
- Wharton S et al. Survodutide once weekly in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes (SYNCHRONIZE-2) (N Engl J Med, 2026)
- Kaplan LM et al. Survodutide in adults with obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (SYNCHRONIZE-MASLD) (Nat Med, 2026)
- Sanyal AJ et al. A phase 2 randomized trial of survodutide in MASH and fibrosis (N Engl J Med, 2024)
- FDA: FDA's concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss (content current as of 1 October 2026)
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