Clinical trial coverage on Peptide News Digest pulls in Phase 1 through Phase 3 readouts across the peptide universe — GLP-1 obesity and cardiometabolic trials (SELECT, SURMOUNT-4, ACHIEVE-3, REDEFINE-1, SYNCHRONIZE-1), peptide vaccine work (AMPLIFY-201, MEL39), peptide-drug conjugate trials, and antimicrobial peptide programs.
Most of the noise sits with Lilly and Novo, but the interesting reads are usually elsewhere: Bicycle Therapeutics on solid tumors, Lirum on Ewing sarcoma, Cerapedics on lumbar fusion, Pelage on hair loss. Real-world evidence and registry data also land here when they reframe what the randomized trials showed.
Each entry names the sponsor, the phase, and the endpoint. Browse the latest below, or jump to the readouts by drug at #semaglutide, #tirzepatide, or #orforglipron.
MeiraGTx announced positive 3-year Phase 1 AQUAx data for AAV-hAQP1, a gene therapy delivering the aquaporin-1 water channel protein via Stensen's duct to the parotid glands of head-and-neck cancer survivors with grade 2/3 radiation-induced dry mouth. Clinically meaningful XQ symptom improvements and unstimulated salivary flow increases were maintained through 3 years. BLA submission planned H1 2027.
CLINUVEL presented afamelanotide (Scenesse) vitiligo data at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting to 20,000+ delegates. The Phase III CUV105 trial has completed enrollment of 200+ patients across 3 continents. Clinical cases showed repigmentation after 20 weeks maintained through 6-month follow-up, even in patients with active disease. Topline results expected H2 2026.
A study of 220,043 patients published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found that combining GLP-1 receptor agonists with SGLT2 inhibitors reduced all-cause mortality by 29%, the cardiovascular composite outcome by 19%, and heart failure risk by 22% compared to SGLT2 inhibitor use alone over 1.3 years of median follow-up.
A Phase 1 trial published in Nature Medicine showed that FLC-Vac, a therapeutic peptide vaccine targeting the DNAJ-PKAc fusion protein in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, combined with nivolumab and ipilimumab achieved 75% disease control (9/12 patients) and 25% partial response rate. All responders showed tumor-specific T cell responses.
Mechanistic data from the REMODEL trial presented at the 2026 World Congress of Nephrology showed semaglutide decreased renal fat, lowered arterial resistance, and stabilized cortical fibrosis. Biopsies revealed reduced immune cells around glomeruli, and transcriptomic analysis identified glomerular endothelial cells as the most responsive cell type to treatment.
A poster at the Obesity Medical Association annual conference (April 10-12, San Diego) showed tirzepatide achieved greater body weight reduction than semaglutide at 12 months in a real-world Truveta EHR analysis of adults with obesity without diabetes, consistent with SURMOUNT-5 clinical trial results.
A Mass General Brigham study of over 90,000 HFpEF patients published in JAMA found semaglutide reduced heart failure hospitalization or all-cause mortality by 42%, while tirzepatide achieved a 58% risk reduction compared with sitagliptin. Both drugs showed acceptable safety profiles with benefits appearing early in treatment.
A comprehensive review in Journal of Nanobiotechnology positions peptide-drug conjugates (PDCs) as the next evolution beyond antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for targeted cancer therapy. Six PDCs are now in Phase III clinical trials with approximately 96 in development, offering advantages in tissue penetration, lower immunotoxicity, and more accessible manufacturing than ADCs.
A 16-week randomized, double-blind trial of oral semaglutide in 72 adults with major depressive disorder found no improvement in executive function vs placebo. However, secondary analyses showed semaglutide improved global cognition and produced clinically significant weight loss, suggesting potential but unclear neuropsychiatric benefit.
A randomized Phase I/II trial of a melanoma helper peptide vaccine with anti-CD27 antibody varlilumab reported 69% four-year disease-free survival in the combination arm versus 20% with vaccine alone. However, varlilumab depleted circulating CD4+ T cells, potentially limiting vaccine synergy and warranting further optimization.
Eli Lilly's triple-agonist retatrutide met all primary and key secondary endpoints in Phase III TRIUMPH-4. The 9mg and 12mg doses achieved significant weight loss and knee pain reduction at 68 weeks in patients with obesity and osteoarthritis. Seven more Phase III readouts expected in 2026.
Phase 3 SURMOUNT-4 data show patients who continued tirzepatide achieved further weight loss, while those switched to placebo regained ~14% body weight over 52 weeks. Findings underscore the need for long-term GLP-1/GIP therapy continuation.
New ORION study results show oral semaglutide produced greater weight loss and better tolerability than rival orforglipron (Foundayo). Novo also introduced higher-dose Wegovy with aggressive discounts.
Merck's investigational oral macrocyclic peptide PCSK9 inhibitor demonstrated significantly greater LDL-C reductions at 8 weeks vs guideline-recommended oral non-statin therapies, delivering injectable-level cholesterol lowering in pill form.
MetaVia dosed the first patient in a higher-dose Phase 1 study of DA-1726, its GLP-1 and glucagon dual agonist for obesity treatment, marking continued advancement in next-gen weight loss drugs.
UC launched a clinical trial using Peptilogics' peptide-based antimicrobial agent to treat prosthetic joint infections by targeting bacterial biofilms that have resisted traditional therapies.
An indirect comparison found oral semaglutide may produce greater weight loss than orforglipron, though head-to-head T2D data showed orforglipron had greater HbA1c reductions vs lower-dose oral semaglutide. Lack of CV outcomes data for orforglipron remains a key limitation.
The FLOW trial showed semaglutide reduced major kidney events by 24%, and retatrutide demonstrated up to 28.7% weight loss in TRIUMPH-4. The full pipeline including CagriSema, MariTide, and survodutide was presented.