Retatrutide

What people use it for

• Obesity and weight loss (clinical trials)
• Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease (clinical trials)

What Retatrutide does in the body

Adds glucagon-receptor activity to GIP and GLP-1 agonism. Glucagon signalling is thought to increase energy expenditure and liver fat burning, on top of the appetite and insulin effects of the other two pathways.

Strength of evidence

Moderate and growing: phase 2 results showed large weight reductions; phase 3 trials are ongoing.

Look up the evidence

• Reviews on PubMed: Summaries of the published research
• Clinical trials on PubMed: Published studies in people
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Registered trials, past and ongoing

Live searches of official databases. New to the terms? See the glossary.

Reported side effects & risks

• Gastrointestinal effects similar to other incretin drugs
• Increased heart rate observed in trials
• Long-term safety not yet established

Who should avoid it or take extra care

• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Anyone outside a clinical trial (not approved; unregulated products vary)
• Personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN2 (expected class caution)

Not a complete list. Check with a doctor or pharmacist about your own health and medicines.

Regulatory status

Not approved. Products sold online as "research peptides" are unregulated.

How it's taken

Route: Injection under the skin once a week (in trials)

How long it lasts (half-life): About 6 days

Mixing guides

How much water to add and what each syringe mark holds, worked out for your own dose:

• 5 mg vial
• 10 mg vial
• 20 mg vial