What Is Mazdutide (IBI362)? The Dual GLP-1/Glucagon Peptide Now Approved in China

Mazdutide is one of the clearest examples of how rapidly next-generation peptide therapies are moving from experimental research into real clinical use.

Also known by its development code IBI362, mazdutide is a once-weekly dual GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist peptide developed by Innovent Biologics in collaboration with Eli Lilly.

Unlike therapies that primarily target GLP-1 alone, mazdutide adds glucagon receptor activity.

That gives it a broader metabolic strategy involving:

• appetite regulation
• glucose control
• energy expenditure
• lipid metabolism
• liver metabolism

Mazdutide received its first approval in China in June 2025 for long-term weight management, followed by approval in September 2025 for type 2 diabetes. (PubMed⁠)

What Is Mazdutide?

Mazdutide is a long-acting peptide engineered to activate two receptors:

GLP-1R

and

GCGR — the glucagon receptor

It is administered by once-weekly subcutaneous injection.

The drug therefore belongs to a growing class of dual metabolic agonists.

What Does GLP-1 Do?

GLP-1 is a naturally occurring hormone released after food is consumed.

It contributes to:

• increased satiety
• reduced appetite
• insulin secretion
• blood-glucose regulation
• slowing of gastric emptying

These effects explain why GLP-1 receptor agonism has become such an important therapeutic strategy in metabolic disease.

What Does Glucagon Do?

Glucagon is best known as the hormone that raises blood glucose when levels become too low.

But its biology extends much further.

Glucagon receptor signalling can also influence:

• energy expenditure
• fat oxidation
• liver metabolism
• lipid mobilisation
• thermogenesis

Researchers are therefore interested in combining glucagon activity with GLP-1.

The GLP-1 component may help control appetite and glucose while the glucagon component may increase energy use and alter fat metabolism.

Why Combine GLP-1 and Glucagon?

The idea is to target both sides of energy balance.

GLP-1 can reduce energy intake.

Glucagon may influence energy expenditure and metabolism.

A well-balanced dual agonist could therefore potentially provide stronger metabolic effects than either pathway alone.

The difficult part is balancing the two.

Too much glucagon activity could raise blood glucose.

The GLP-1 component therefore needs to offset that effect while preserving the potential metabolic benefits of glucagon signalling.

What Did the GLORY-2 Trial Show?

One of the most important recent studies was the GLORY-2 Phase 3 trial, published in JAMA in August 2026.

The trial involved 461 adults with obesity, including some participants with type 2 diabetes.

Participants received either:

• 9 mg mazdutide once weekly
• placebo

alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Treatment lasted 60 weeks. (PubMed⁠)

How Much Weight Was Lost?

At week 60, average body-weight change was approximately:

–16.65% with mazdutide

compared with

–1.50% with placebo.

The difference between groups was approximately 15 percentage points. (PubMed⁠)

That is a substantial Phase 3 result.

How Many Participants Lost at Least 5% of Their Weight?

Approximately:

84.3% of participants receiving mazdutide

achieved at least 5% weight reduction.

This compared with:

33.1% receiving placebo. (PubMed⁠)

These results helped confirm that the effects observed in earlier trials could be reproduced in a larger controlled Phase 3 population.

What Were the Main Side Effects?

Gastrointestinal adverse effects were common.

In GLORY-2, the most frequently reported included:

• vomiting
• nausea
• diarrhoea

Vomiting occurred in approximately 53% of participants receiving mazdutide, while nausea occurred in around 47%.

Most adverse effects were described as mild to moderate. (PubMed⁠)

Approximately 2.9% of participants receiving mazdutide discontinued treatment because of adverse events.

What About Type 2 Diabetes?

Mazdutide has also been studied extensively in people with type 2 diabetes.

A published Phase 3 trial involved 320 adults whose diabetes remained inadequately controlled through diet and exercise.

Participants received:

• 4 mg mazdutide
• 6 mg mazdutide
• or placebo

for an initial 24 weeks. (PubMed⁠)

The study demonstrated improvements in both:

• HbA1c
• body weight

which helped support its later approval for type 2 diabetes in China.

What Does the Wider Evidence Show?

A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis examined nine randomised controlled trials involving 2,292 participants. (PubMed⁠)

Researchers found that mazdutide produced dose-dependent reductions in:

• body weight
• HbA1c
• waist circumference

and also improved several metabolic markers including:

• lipid profiles
• liver enzymes
• uric acid

Gastrointestinal adverse effects were more common than with comparator treatments, but serious adverse events and overall discontinuation rates were broadly similar. (PubMed⁠)

Why Is Mazdutide Interesting for Liver Research?

Glucagon receptor signalling plays an important role in liver metabolism.

This means mazdutide could potentially affect more than body weight.

Research has investigated its effects on:

• liver fat
• metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease
• liver enzymes
• lipid metabolism

Mazdutide is also being evaluated in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease. (PubMed⁠)

That makes the glucagon component particularly interesting.

Is Mazdutide Being Studied for Other Conditions?

Yes.

Beyond obesity and diabetes, clinical development has included investigation in:

• metabolic fatty liver disease
• obstructive sleep apnoea
• alcohol use disorder

This reflects the wider movement toward using metabolic hormone pathways to treat conditions extending beyond conventional glucose control. (PubMed⁠)

How Is Mazdutide Different From Semaglutide?

Semaglutide primarily targets:

GLP-1

Mazdutide targets:

GLP-1 + glucagon

The additional glucagon receptor activity could influence:

• energy expenditure
• liver metabolism
• lipid oxidation

This creates a different metabolic profile.

How Is Mazdutide Different From Tirzepatide?

Tirzepatide targets:

GIP + GLP-1

Mazdutide targets:

glucagon + GLP-1

Both are dual agonists, but the second receptor is different.

Tirzepatide adds GIP signalling.

Mazdutide adds glucagon signalling.

How Is Mazdutide Different From Survodutide?

Mechanistically, they are more similar.

Both target:

GLP-1 + glucagon

But they are different molecules with different:

• receptor balances
• pharmacokinetics
• dosing
• development programmes
• clinical evidence

Survodutide remains investigational.

Mazdutide has already achieved regulatory approval in China.

How Is Mazdutide Different From Retatrutide?

Retatrutide activates three receptors:

• GIP
• GLP-1
• glucagon

Mazdutide activates two:

• GLP-1
• glucagon

Retatrutide therefore adds GIP activity.

That does not automatically mean a triple agonist will be preferable in every situation.

Receptor balance and tolerability can be just as important as receptor number.

Is Mazdutide a Peptide?

Yes.

Mazdutide is a peptide-based dual receptor agonist.

It is designed to mimic aspects of naturally occurring metabolic peptide hormones while remaining active long enough for once-weekly administration.

Is Mazdutide Approved?

Yes — but regulatory status depends on the country.

Mazdutide received its first global approval in China in June 2025 for long-term weight management in adults meeting specified BMI criteria.

It was subsequently approved in China in September 2025 for glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. (PubMed⁠)

That does not mean it is automatically approved in the UK, US or European Union.

Each jurisdiction requires its own regulatory review.

Why Is the China Approval Important?

Many peptides discussed in research communities remain at:

• animal-study stage
• Phase 1
• Phase 2
• Phase 3

Mazdutide has crossed an important threshold into regulated clinical use.

This means researchers now have increasing amounts of real-world and late-stage trial data rather than simply early experimental findings.

What About Higher Doses?

The GLORY-2 study specifically examined a 9 mg weekly dose.

At week 60, that dose produced average weight reduction of approximately 16.65%. (PubMed⁠)

Earlier Phase 2 research at 9 mg had already reported approximately 12.8% average reduction after 24 weeks, helping justify progression to larger Phase 3 testing. (PubMed⁠)

The longer Phase 3 results show why extended trials matter.

Weight-loss effects can continue developing well beyond the first few months.

Does Mazdutide Have Advantages Over Other GLP-1 Drugs?

It is too simplistic to say that one treatment is universally better.

Potential differences may involve:

• total weight reduction
• glucose control
• liver effects
• blood pressure
• lipid metabolism
• tolerability

A 2026 network meta-analysis comparing GLP-1-based obesity treatments found that newer multi-receptor therapies generally produced stronger weight-loss effects than conventional GLP-1 receptor agonists, although direct head-to-head evidence remains limited. (PubMed⁠)

Treatment choice ultimately depends on much more than a headline weight-loss percentage.

What Still Needs to Be Studied?

Important questions remain, particularly outside China.

These include:

• cardiovascular outcomes
• long-term safety
• effectiveness across more ethnically diverse populations
• durability of weight loss
• effects on lean mass
• comparative effectiveness against established therapies
• long-term liver outcomes
• real-world adherence

A 2026 meta-analysis specifically highlighted the need for longer-term and more multi-ethnic studies. (PubMed⁠)

Why Is Mazdutide Worth Watching?

Mazdutide illustrates a major change taking place in metabolic peptide research.

The field has moved from:

single GLP-1 receptor agonism

toward

multi-receptor metabolic engineering.

Mazdutide combines appetite regulation with a pathway capable of influencing liver metabolism and energy expenditure.

And unlike many experimental dual agonists, it has already progressed into regulated clinical use in a major market.

The Bottom Line

Mazdutide, also known as IBI362, is a once-weekly dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist peptide.

In the Phase 3 GLORY-2 trial, adults with obesity receiving 9 mg mazdutide experienced average weight reduction of approximately 16.65% after 60 weeks, compared with 1.5% with placebo. (PubMed⁠)

A broader 2026 review of nine randomised trials involving 2,292 participants found dose-dependent improvements in body weight, glucose control and several metabolic markers. (PubMed⁠)

Most importantly, mazdutide is no longer simply an experimental compound.

It became the first GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist approved for weight management in China in June 2025, followed by approval for type 2 diabetes later that year. (PubMed⁠)

That makes mazdutide an important case study in how dual-receptor peptide research is beginning to move from clinical trials into routine medical treatment.

This article is for research and educational purposes only. Regulatory approval and availability vary by country, and approval in China does not establish approval elsewhere.