Peptide research, regulation, discovery. Every story links to the peptide it’s about.
RSSAn Am J Case Rep paper reports moderate-to-severe cutaneous allodynia in two severe-obesity patients on tirzepatide for weight management, with onset during dose escalation, severity tracking dose, and resolution after discontinuation. The first published case series specifically linking tirzepatide to allodynia, joining the broader GLP-1 sensory side-effect cluster (Wegovy HD dysesthesia, Ozempic Face) the section has tracked.
AstraZeneca's eleglipron, the oral small-molecule GLP-1 agonist licensed from Eccogene in 2023, met primary endpoints in Phase 2b VISTA (310 obesity patients, 26-week weight loss) and SOLSTICE (406 T2D patients, 26-week HbA1c vs semaglutide). Full data at ADA 2026 in June. AstraZeneca commits to a comprehensive Phase 3 program, adding a third serious entrant to the oral GLP-1 race.
Entrada Therapeutics announced May 7 that ENTR-601-44, a first-in-class Endosomal Escape Vehicle peptide-PMO conjugate, produced a 2.36% mean dystrophin increase from a 4.00% baseline at 6 mg/kg in Cohort 1 of the ELEVATE-44-201 Phase 1/2 trial in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Time-to-Rise velocity improved significantly with clean safety. The 6 mg/kg dose is well below the 30 mg/kg standard for unconjugated PMOs.
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals reported Q1 2026 with Palsonify (paltusotine) at $10.3 million net product revenue, nearly double the $5.4M Q4 2025 launch quarter. 263 unique prescribers (up from 125), 232 new patient enrollment forms, and ~70% of patients reimbursed. Cash $1.3B, R&D up 17.6% to $100.1M to fund Phase 3 paltusotine in carcinoid syndrome and atumelnant in CAH and Cushing's syndrome.
An ACR Open Rheumatology study in 60,198 patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases tracks GLP-1 RA initiation from 0.1% in 2018 to 6.8% in 2024. At 12 months, tirzepatide users lost 8.2% body weight versus 5.8% for semaglutide users (treatment difference 2.2 percentage points, CI 1.9-2.5). Non-diabetic patients lost 1.8% more weight than those with diabetes.
A new Archives of Pharmacal Research meta-analysis of 14 RCTs and 1,260 non-diabetic patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or mild cognitive impairment finds GLP-1 RAs produce only a trivial improvement in global cognition (SMD 0.14, high-certainty) and a moderate decrement in verbal fluency (SMD -0.43, high-certainty). The first quantitative challenge to the GLP-1-as-neurodegenerative-therapy hypothesis.
Lilly disclosed an ADA 2026 abstract slot for animal data on a unimolecular quintuple agonist engaging GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, amylin, and calcitonin receptors. The compound is distinct from the DiMarchi-Tschöp-Müller GLP-1R/GIPR/PPAR conjugate covered May 1, but the convergence of two independent groups producing five-pharmacophore obesity drugs in the same publication window is a real signal about where multi-agonist development is heading.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar told CNBC May 6 that the Wegovy franchise (injectable, pill, Ozempic, Rybelsus) writes 65% of new US GLP-1 prescriptions, calling the moment a 'turnaround situation.' The Q1 disclosure also confirmed termination of the single-chamber CagriSema co-formulation; the dual-chamber injectable continues with FDA decision expected late 2026. Jefferies pushed back, arguing the lower end of guidance was not lifted enough.
A Nature paper from the international TransCODE Consortium identifies 1,785 previously unrecognized microproteins from non-canonical open reading frames, expanding the human proteome by approximately 10%. Based on meta-analysis of 95,520 proteomics experiments, the work codifies 'peptideins' as a working category for microproteins with indeterminate functional potential. The paper sets the reference annotation standard for ncORF-encoded microproteins.
A multinational retrospective cohort in Neurology reports that calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibitors (Aimovig, Vyepti, Ajovy, Emgality, atogepant, rimegepant) reduce incident glaucoma risk by 25% over 3 years versus non-CGRPi migraine preventives (HR 0.75, CI 0.61-0.92). The protective effect concentrates in the monoclonal antibody subclass and persists across older adults, women, chronic migraine, and migraine-without-aura subgroups.
Novo Nordisk Q1 2026 reported Wegovy pill sales of DKK 2.26 billion (~$354M), almost double the DKK 1.16 billion consensus, on 1.3 million Q1 prescriptions and 2 million cumulative since the January 5 launch. Total net sales DKK 96.82B (+24% YoY), operating profit DKK 59.62B (+54%), guidance tightened from -5/-13% to -4/-12%. The volume-versus-price question gets a clean answer: volume won.
Novo's high-dose Wegovy (semaglutide 7.2 mg injection), FDA-approved in March and launched April 7, contributed to the Q1 print on STEP UP trial data showing 21% mean weight loss at 72 weeks and 89% of patients achieving at least 5% body-weight reduction. Dysesthesia at 22% (vs 6% on 2.4 mg and 0.3% placebo) is the safety chapter prescribers will need to engage explicitly. Step-up requires four-plus weeks tolerability on standard dose first.
An Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol paper describes NTyP-100, a nanocarrier conjugating a peptide inhibitor of non-muscle myosin light chain kinase with a sphingosine-1-phosphate analogue. In two rodent acute lung injury models (LPS one-hit in mice, LPS plus mechanical ventilation two-hit in rats), the construct cut inflammatory injury by approximately 40% compared with either component alone, with attenuation of TNF, IL-17, and apoptosis pathway dysregulation.
A Canadian Journal of Anesthesia meta-analysis of 10 prospective studies and 300 patients quantifies the GLP-1 receptor agonist gastric-emptying delay at a mean of 74 minutes (95% CI 46-101). Short-acting agents (exenatide, lixisenatide) push the delay to 116 minutes; the first 10 weeks of therapy sit at 82 minutes. The result quantifies the mechanism behind ASA's 2023 perioperative hold guidance.
An FDA Adverse Event Reporting System case logged April 30 documenting hepatic failure in a 56-year-old male on Foundayo surfaced May 4, briefly cutting Lilly shares 3% before recovering. The Lilly Global Patient Safety response cited the 11,000-patient ACHIEVE/ATTAIN program with no DILI signal across two years; RBC framed the single case as 'baseline noise, not a mechanistic signal' against class FAERS counts (Ozempic 33, Mounjaro 30, Wegovy 15, Zepbound 2).