Beinaglutide
Recombinant human GLP-1 given three times a day: short-acting by design, tested in China for diabetes and weight loss
Beinaglutide is recombinant human glucagon-like peptide-1 with the natural 30-amino-acid sequence of GLP-1(7-36), not a modified long-acting analogue. It peaks in the blood 10 to 15 minutes after an injection and is given three times a day. It is used for type 2 diabetes in China, and in a 16-week phase 3 trial in 427 Chinese adults with overweight or obesity it reduced body weight by 6.0% against 2.4% on placebo. It has no FDA or EMA approval.
What is it?
Most GLP-1 drugs are engineered to last; semaglutide is dosed weekly. Beinaglutide is human GLP-1 itself, the 30-amino-acid GLP-1(7-36) sequence made recombinantly, so it acts briefly and is injected three times a day. Blood levels peak about 10 to 15 minutes after each injection and do not accumulate, and a 2024 study describes it as widely used for type 2 diabetes in China.
In a 16-week phase 3 trial of 427 adults with obesity or overweight, 0.2 mg three times daily cut weight by 6.0% against 2.4% on placebo, and 58.2% lost at least 5% against 25.4%. Nausea, mostly mild, affected 49.3% against 7.1%. A 2025 meta-analysis of seven trials put the average loss at 3.74 kg.
In type 2 diabetes it has been combined with insulin glargine, improving the share of patients reaching their HbA1c target and lowering weight, waist and LDL cholesterol. Its three-times-daily schedule and the size of its effect set it apart from weekly GLP-1 drugs. It is not approved by FDA or EMA.
Most of the rest of its evidence is Chinese and small: uncontrolled real-world series with large weight losses, a six-month comparison with premixed insulin that favoured it on post-meal glucose and weight, and short studies in polycystic ovary syndrome, visceral fat and gut bacteria. These support the direction of effect but not its size, since most of them had no placebo arm.
Mechanism of Action
Beinaglutide is recombinant human GLP-1(7-36), the native hormone sequence, so it acts briefly and is injected three times a day.
GLP-1 receptor
Activates the GLP-1 receptor like other drugs in the class, lowering glucose and appetite.
Short-acting
Levels peak 10 to 15 minutes after each injection and do not accumulate, hence three injections a day.
Weight and fat
Studies report falls in weight, visceral fat and inflammatory markers such as CRP.
Published Research
These are the trials behind beinaglutide, read from their PubMed abstracts. All were run in China.
Phase 3 weight trial: 427 adults
Weight fell 6.0% on 0.2 mg three times daily and 2.4% on placebo over 16 weeks (difference -3.6%); 58.2% against 25.4% lost at least 5% and 21.3% against 5.1% at least 10%. Nausea affected 49.3% against 7.1%, and regain 12 weeks after treatment was 0.78%.
Against metformin in adults without diabetes
Over 12 weeks, 64 completers lost 9.5% of body weight on beinaglutide against 5.1% on metformin (a difference of about 4.5 kg); 90.6% against 46.9% lost at least 5%, and the loss was mainly fat mass.
Pharmacokinetics in 16 adults
Three-times-daily injections of 0.1, 0.14 and 0.2 mg were well tolerated. Levels peaked around 10 to 15 minutes, exposure rose in proportion to dose, and there was no accumulation after multiple doses.
With insulin glargine in type 2 diabetes
In 68 patients, adding glargine to beinaglutide raised the share reaching the HbA1c target from 25.42% to 40.68%; beinaglutide lowered weight, waist and LDL cholesterol, while glargine lowered fasting glucose more.
Real-world use in China
In 314 patients with type 2 diabetes treated for three months, weight fell 10.05 kg and HbA1c 2.87 points; 72.2% lost at least 10%, more at higher doses and higher BMI. There was no control group.
Against premixed insulin with metformin
In 134 patients randomised to beinaglutide or aspart 30 with metformin for six months, beinaglutide lowered post-meal glucose, low-glucose risk, weight and triglycerides more; one patient developed anti-drug antibodies.
By continuous infusion in new diabetes
In 30 newly diagnosed patients on insulin pumps, adding beinaglutide by continuous subcutaneous infusion for four weeks cut weight by 8.8 kg against none, with lower insulin needs.
Polycystic ovary syndrome
In obese women with PCOS, beinaglutide plus metformin lost 4.54 kg against 2.47 kg on metformin alone over the short term, with greater falls in insulin resistance and testosterone.
Visceral fat in diabetes
In 107 obese patients with type 2 diabetes, 12 weeks of beinaglutide reduced visceral fat area from 150 to 115 cm² and weight from 90.7 to 84.2 kg; most took 0.24 to 0.30 mg a day.
Inflammation markers
In 36 overweight patients with type 2 diabetes, three months of treatment lowered weight, glucose, visceral fat and inflammatory proteins such as CRP and TNF-alpha; CRP fall tracked weight loss.
Gut microbiota in obesity
In 33 people with obesity, beinaglutide reduced visceral fat, cholesterol and CRP and shifted the gut bacterial mix, restoring diversity.
Meta-analysis: seven trials, 872 people
Beinaglutide reduced weight (by 3.74 kg), BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure; weight loss was greater at doses below 0.4 mg than above.
Dosing Data
It is used in China, not approved by FDA or EMA. The phase 3 weight trial used 0.2 mg three times daily; diabetes studies used doses mostly between 0.24 and 0.30 mg a day.
Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose above is tagged with its source: an approved label, a published human study, animal data, or amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
From the trials above.
Contraindications & Cautions
No label outside China was read for this page. These cautions follow from the evidence.
Legal Status
Beinaglutide is used in China and is not approved in the US or the EU.
Frequently Asked Questions
?How is beinaglutide different from semaglutide?
Beinaglutide is human GLP-1 with its natural sequence, so it acts for minutes and is injected three times a day; semaglutide is modified to last about a week.
?How much weight did people lose?
In a 16-week phase 3 trial, 6.0% of body weight on beinaglutide against 2.4% on placebo; a meta-analysis of seven trials put the average loss at 3.74 kg.
?Is beinaglutide approved?
It is used for type 2 diabetes in China. FDA's Drugs@FDA database and EMA's register have no entry for it.
References
- [pubmed] Chen K, et al. "Beinaglutide for weight management in Chinese individuals with overweight or obesity: A phase 3 randomized controlled clinical study." Diabetes Obes Metab, 2024;26(2):690-698. PMID: 37945546.
- [pubmed] Gao L, et al. "Comparison of Beinaglutide Versus Metformin for Weight Loss in Overweight and Obese Non-diabetic Patients." Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes, 2022;130(6):358-367. PMID: 34856624.
- [pubmed] Lin P, et al. "Pharmacokinetics and safety profiles of beinaglutide injection, a recombinant human GLP-1, in adults with overweight/obesity: results from a phase I clinical trial." Front Pharmacol, 2024;15:1433587. PMID: 39239660.
- [pubmed] Liu X, et al. "The efficacy and safety of beinaglutide alone or in combination with insulin glargine in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are inadequately controlled with oral antihyperglycemic therapy: A multicenter, open-label, randomized trial." J Diabetes, 2023;16(2). PMID: 37864379.
- [pubmed] Poshtdar S, et al. "The effects of Beinaglutide on obesity and related factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials." Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab, 2025;20(4):307-316. PMID: 40214160.
- [fda] FDA. Drugs@FDA (openFDA): no application for beinaglutide. Read September 30, 2026.
- [other] European Medicines Agency. Medicines register: no entry for beinaglutide. Read September 30, 2026.
- [pubmed] Zhang YL, et al. "Beinaglutide showed significant weight-loss benefit and effective glycaemic control for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in a real-world setting: a 3-month, multicentre, observational, retrospective, open-label study." Obes Sci Pract, 2019;5(4):366-375. PMID: 31452921.
- [pubmed] Han CY, et al. "Effect of beinaglutide combined with metformin versus aspart 30 with metformin on metabolic profiles and antidrug antibodies in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial." Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2023;14:1267503. PMID: 38125788.
- [pubmed] Luo Y, et al. "Efficacy and safety of beinaglutide with continuous subcutaneous infusion in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, control, open-labeled clinical trial." J Endocrinol Invest, 2025;48(11):2703-2711. PMID: 40719951.
- [pubmed] Wen Q, et al. "Short-term effect of beinaglutide combined with metformin versus metformin alone on weight loss and metabolic profiles in obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: a pilot randomized trial." Front Endocrinol (Lausanne), 2023;14:1156521. PMID: 37347114.
- [pubmed] Wang GY, et al. "The effect of beinaglutide on visceral fat and body weight in obese type 2 diabetic patients." Arch Med Sci, 2026;22(2):702-707. PMID: 42305292.
- [pubmed] Wang G, et al. "Effect of beinaglutide treatment on weight loss in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and overweight/obesity." Arch Endocrinol Metab, 2021;65(4):421-427. PMID: 34283904.
- [pubmed] Liu T, et al. "Effects of beinaglutide on visceral fat area and gut microbiota in obesity." Eur J Med Res, 2025;30(1):448. PMID: 40462210.
Sources & Citations
Studies were read from their PubMed abstracts; no US or EU label exists. Read October 7, 2026.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Talk to a licensed clinician about your own situation.