Ecnoglutide

What it is

Ecnoglutide (XW003) is a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist designed to signal preferentially through the cAMP pathway (cAMP is a signalling molecule inside cells) and to remain active in the body for a long time. Its clinical development has been centred in China, where it has been studied for weight management and type 2 diabetes.

Ecnoglutide received its first approval in China in January 2026 for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes, and in March 2026 for long-term weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight and at least one weight-related comorbidity. Sciwind Biosciences, the developer, announced on March 6, 2026 that China's NMPA approved ecnoglutide for chronic weight management in Chinese adults with overweight or obesity. It is not approved by the FDA.

How it's thought to work

Ecnoglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist with signaling biased toward the cAMP pathway. GLP-1 receptor activation is associated with appetite suppression, slowed gastric emptying and glucose-dependent insulin secretion. Structural modifications extend its half-life, which is what makes it long-acting.

What the research says

In a phase 3 trial in 664 Chinese adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes, the mean change in body weight at week 40 ranged from -9.1% to -13.2% across the three ecnoglutide groups, compared with +0.1% on placebo, and 77% to 87% of ecnoglutide participants lost at least 5% of their body weight, compared with 16% on placebo.

A phase 2 trial in adults with type 2 diabetes reported reductions in HbA1c (a measure of average blood sugar) of -1.81% to -2.39% across ecnoglutide groups after 20 weeks, compared with -0.55% on placebo.

Reported side effects

In the phase 3 weight management trial, the most common adverse events were mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal events; treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 93% of ecnoglutide participants and 84% of those on placebo, and ten ecnoglutide participants stopped treatment because of adverse events. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and decreased appetite are the effects usually listed, and they cluster during dose escalation, as with other GLP-1 agonists.

Reconstitution

Ecnoglutide is supplied as a lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder and is typically reconstituted with bacteriostatic (BAC) water before use. It commonly comes in 5 mg and 10 mg vials. The amount of peptide in the vial is fixed; the water added only changes how concentrated the solution is.

Worked example. A 5 mg vial is 5,000 mcg. Reconstituted with 1 mL of BAC water, that works out to 5,000 mcg ÷ 1 mL = 5,000 mcg/mL. On a U-100 insulin syringe, where each unit is 0.01 mL, each unit holds 5,000 × 0.01 = 50 mcg. Use the peptide reconstitution calculator to work out the concentration and units for any vial size and water volume.

Important notes

Ecnoglutide is approved in China for type 2 diabetes and weight management. It is not FDA-approved in the US. Material sold as a research chemical is not a regulated medicine, so its quality and purity are not independently verified.

Sources

1. Efficacy and safety of a biased GLP-1 receptor agonist ecnoglutide in adults with overweight or obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.. Ji L et al. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol, 2025. Human trial
2. Efficacy and safety of GLP-1 analog ecnoglutide in adults with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial.. Zhu D et al. Nat Commun, 2024. Human trial
3. Ecnoglutide: First Approvals.. Shirley M et al. Drugs, 2026. Review
4. Sciwind Biosciences Announces Ecnoglutide Injection Approved by China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for Chronic Weight Management. Sciwind Biosciences, 2026. Announcement

How we choose and check sources

Frequently asked questions

These questions cover the same ground as the sections above, in a shorter format.

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