June 2, 2026

BPC-157 Evidence Investigation, MC4R-Deficiency GLP-1 Comparison, Sapience Lucicebtide ASCO Final Data, ADA 2026 Curtain-Raiser, Camurus Oclaiz June 10 PDUFA

A STAT/Undark BPC-157 evidence probe, an MC4R-deficiency GLP-1 comparison, Sapience's lucicebtide ASCO data, the ADA 2026 preview, and Camurus' June 10 PDUFA.

6 stories · Covering research, clinical-trials, industry, regulatory

Editor's Note

The conference calendar exhaled on June 2 as ASCO closed in Chicago and ADA stayed three days out, leaving a quieter day that surfaced the field's quieter arguments. A STAT and Undark investigation put BPC-157's thin evidence base back under the lamp weeks before the FDA's July compounding vote, while a mouse study testing semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide in MC4R-deficient obesity showed the incretin drugs still work when the body's main satiety circuit is broken. Sapience closed out the peptide-oncology week with spatial-transcriptomics proof that its C/EBPβ antagonist hits its target in glioblastoma. The metabolic field now turns to New Orleans, where retatrutide's full Phase 3 data and the orforglipron ACHIEVE diabetes program anchor a dense ADA slate, and Camurus waits on a June 10 decision for its once-monthly octreotide depot.

Research

STAT and Undark Investigation Puts BPC-157's Evidence Base Under Scrutiny Weeks Before the July PCAC Vote

A STAT and Undark investigation, supported by the Pulitzer Center and widely republished around June 1-2, examined the thin evidence behind BPC-157, the wound-healing peptide on the FDA's July 23-24 PCAC docket. Nearly all of the roughly 200 BPC-157 studies indexed on PubMed list Croatian researcher Predrag Sikiric or colleague Sven Seiwerth as an author, a concentration a Polish review team flagged as a confirmation-bias risk, and Sikiric's undisclosed conflicts include patents dating to 1989 and a CEO role at Diagen, which sells a patented version. Only three human studies have been published; STAT ran a June 1 follow-up carrying Sikiric's response to skeptics.

#bpc-157 #predrag-sikiric #evidence #pcac #compounding #undark

Research

GLP-1 Analogs Cut Weight in MC4R-Deficient Obesity Mice, With Tirzepatide Leading the Three-Way Comparison

A study in the International Journal of Obesity compared semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide in MC4R-knockout mice, a model of the most common monogenic obesity. Over 21 days, mean body-weight reduction reached 31.6% with tirzepatide, 24.1% with retatrutide, and 19.7% with semaglutide, and tirzepatide also suppressed cumulative food intake most aggressively. All three improved plasma insulin, HOMA-IR, cholesterol, and liver-damage markers, suggesting incretin drugs can drive weight loss even when the POMC-MC4R satiety axis is disrupted.

#mc4r #semaglutide #tirzepatide #retatrutide #monogenic-obesity #preclinical

Clinical Trials

Sapience Lucicebtide ASCO 2026 Final Update: Spatial Transcriptomics Confirms C/EBPβ Target Engagement Across a 125-Patient Glioblastoma Program

At ASCO 2026, Sapience Therapeutics presented updated Phase 2 data for lucicebtide (ST101), a first-in-class peptide antagonist of the transcription factor C/EBPβ, now studied in 125 patients. In newly diagnosed glioblastoma plus standard of care, projected median PFS reached 28.4 months and median OS was not yet reached, with 6 of 9 patients alive beyond 22.3 months. Spatial transcriptomics confirmed on-target activity through negative enrichment of the C/EBPβ regulon and suppression of mesenchymal transformation, with no dose-limiting toxicities or related serious adverse events.

#sapience-therapeutics #lucicebtide #st101 #c-ebp-beta #glioblastoma #asco-2026

Industry

ADA 2026 Opens June 5 in New Orleans: Retatrutide Full Phase 3 Data, Orforglipron ACHIEVE Diabetes Trials, Mazdutide DREAMS-3 Head-to-Head

The American Diabetes Association's 86th Scientific Sessions open June 5-8 with the year's deepest metabolic-peptide slate. Lilly presents full TRIUMPH-1 obesity data and the first retatrutide diabetes Phase 3, TRANSCEND-T2D-1, plus the orforglipron ACHIEVE program comparing the oral GLP-1 against dapagliflozin, oral semaglutide, and placebo. Innovent's mazdutide brings GLORY-2 and the DREAMS-3 head-to-head versus semaglutide, AstraZeneca's eleglipron carries full Phase 2b data, and Lilly's GLP-1/GIP/glucagon/amylin/calcitonin quintuple agonist takes a plenary slot.

#ada-2026 #retatrutide #orforglipron #achieve #mazdutide #new-orleans

Regulatory

Camurus Oclaiz, a Once-Monthly Octreotide Depot, Faces a June 10 FDA Decision in Acromegaly

Camurus' Oclaiz (CAM2029), a once-monthly subcutaneous octreotide depot built on the company's FluidCrystal technology and delivered by autoinjector pen, carries an FDA PDUFA target date of June 10 for acromegaly. The resubmitted NDA, accepted after a Complete Response Letter tied to a third-party manufacturing inspection, rests on seven clinical studies including the two Phase 3 ACROINNOVA trials. A clearance would add a peptide depot to the somatostatin-analog market alongside Crinetics' newly launched oral Palsonify.

#camurus #oclaiz #octreotide #acromegaly #somatostatin #pdufa

Industry

ASCO 2026 Closes in Chicago: Peptide Oncology Ends the Meeting Across Conjugates, Vaccines, and Radioligands

The ASCO Annual Meeting closed June 2 after a week that moved peptide and targeted-conjugate oncology from abstract to podium: Bicycle's bicyclic peptide-drug conjugate and Avacta's FAP-activated conjugate in solid tumors, Mayo's folate-receptor and BioVaxys' survivin peptide vaccines, Sapience's C/EBPβ antagonist in glioblastoma, and PSMA and lead-212 radioligands from Telix and Perspective. Attention now shifts to ADA 2026 in New Orleans and the July 23-24 PCAC compounding vote.

#asco-2026 #peptide-oncology #peptide-drug-conjugate #peptide-vaccine #radioligand #chicago