Pemvidutide: what it is and where the research stands

It is a chain of 29 amino acids carrying a side group the company calls EuPort: a molecule with a fatty part and a sugar part that slows absorption and allows once-weekly administration. In every trial it was given by subcutaneous injection.

It acts on two receptors at once: the GLP-1 receptor and the glucagon receptor. GLP-1 activity relates to satiety and blood-sugar regulation. Glucagon activity relates to energy expenditure and liver fat metabolism. In laboratory measurements the two activities were nearly equal (39 and 42 pM) — measured in cells, not in people (Sci Rep 2022, PMID 35461369).

• PERFORMA (NCT07795164): Focus: Steatohepatitis (MASH) · Phase: 3 · Participants: 1,800 · Status: Started July 2026
• IMPACT (NCT05989711): Focus: MASH, fibrosis stages F2–F3 · Phase: 2b · Participants: 212 · Status: Completed
• MOMENTUM (NCT05295875): Focus: Obesity · Phase: 2 · Participants: 391 · Status: Completed
• RESTORE (NCT07009860): Focus: Alcohol-associated liver disease · Phase: 2 · Participants: 121 · Status: Ongoing

According to Altimmune (company announcement, 12 Aug 2026), the first 52-week Phase 3 readout is expected in 2029.

Steatohepatitis, 24 weeks — peer-reviewed (Lancet 2025, PMID 41237796). Among 212 participants, MASH resolution without worsening of fibrosis was recorded in 58% at the 1.2 mg dose and 52% at 1.8 mg, versus 20% on placebo. The trial's other primary endpoint, fibrosis improvement, was not met: 33% and 36% versus 28%, differences without statistical significance. The investigators state this themselves.

Liver fat, 12 weeks — peer-reviewed (J Hepatol 2024, PMID 39002641). Among 94 participants, relative liver-fat reduction was 46.6% at 1.2 mg, 68.5% at 1.8 mg and 57.1% at 2.4 mg, versus 4.4% on placebo. The dose-response was not linear. An extension of the same research to 24 weeks, with 64 participants (JHEP Reports 2025, PMID 41113119), reported reductions of 56.3%, 75.2% and 76.4% versus 14.0% on placebo.

Obesity, 48 weeks — company announcement, not peer-reviewed. Reported body-weight change of 10.3% at 1.2 mg, 11.2% at 1.8 mg and 15.6% at 2.4 mg, versus 2.2% on placebo, among 391 participants (Altimmune, 30 Nov 2023).

The doses below are clinical-trial facts, not usage instructions. Pemvidutide is an investigational compound without approval.

Three doses were used, all once weekly subcutaneously: 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg and 2.4 mg. The two lower doses were given from the start without stepping up. For 2.4 mg the investigators used a four-week step-up, and in a more recent trial (company announcement, 28 Jul 2026) a simpler two-step scheme, with no published steps. According to the registry (NCT07795164), Phase 3 compares 1.8 mg and 2.4 mg.

In the obesity trial (company announcement, not peer-reviewed), at 48 weeks, nausea was reported by 25.5% to 59.6% of participants depending on dose, versus 11.3% on placebo. Vomiting ranged from 6.1% to 27.8%, versus 3.1%. Discontinuation due to an adverse event ranged from 5.1% to 19.6%, versus 6.2%.

In the peer-reviewed MASH trial at 24 weeks, discontinuations were lower: none at 1.2 mg, one at 1.8 mg, two on placebo.

Trials excluded people with a history of pancreatitis, type 1 diabetes, and cirrhosis or its complications.

• The human half-life has not been published in a source we could verify.
• The 48-week MASH results exist only as a company announcement and are not presented here.
• The obesity trial has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• There are no data beyond the time horizons reported above.

This content is educational and research-oriented. Pemvidutide is an investigational compound, is not approved as a medicine, and is not intended for human use. This is not medical advice.