Altimmune's weekly GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist, now in phase 3 for fatty liver disease (MASH) and studied for obesity and alcohol use disorder.
Also called ALT-801, Altimmune GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist, IMPACT trial, PERFORMA trial, MOMENTUM trial
When Pemvidutide's status or evidence changes, it's in the next morning's email.
Pemvidutide is a once-weekly injectable peptide from Altimmune that activates two receptors in equal measure: the GLP-1 receptor, which cuts appetite, and the glucagon receptor, which acts directly on the liver to burn fat. It carries a built-in albumin-binding section (Altimmune calls it the EuPort domain) that stretches it to weekly dosing and slows how fast it reaches the blood.
In the 48-week MOMENTUM obesity trial, which Altimmune has reported but not published in a journal, 391 adults without diabetes lost 10.3%, 11.2% and 15.6% of body weight on 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4 mg, against 2.2% on placebo. Altimmune has since focused on the liver. In the IMPACT trial of 212 people with biopsy-proven MASH and F2 to F3 fibrosis, MASH cleared without fibrosis getting worse in 58% (1.2 mg) and 52% (1.8 mg) at 24 weeks versus 20% on placebo, but the fibrosis-improvement goal was missed.
Altimmune reported that the FDA gave pemvidutide Breakthrough Therapy designation for MASH in January 2026, and the company's PERFORMA phase 3 trial (about 1,800 people) began in August 2026, with 52-week biopsy results expected in 2029. In July 2026 the company reported that a 100-person alcohol use disorder trial cut heavy drinking days more than placebo; those results are not yet peer reviewed. It is not approved anywhere.
What it binds to, and what happens inside the body after that, step by step.
Pemvidutide activates GLP-1 and glucagon receptors at a 1:1 ratio. GLP-1 activity lowers appetite and food intake. Glucagon activity acts on the liver, pushing it to burn fat and make less new fat, which is why liver fat falls faster than weight alone would explain. GLP-1 signaling also touches the brain's reward and craving pathways, the reason it is being tested in alcohol use disorder.
Human results and animal results are kept apart below. A result in rats tells you a mechanism is plausible. It does not tell you what happens in a person.
Several placebo-controlled human trials, including a peer-reviewed phase 2b MASH biopsy trial in the Lancet, show lower liver fat, MASH resolution and weight loss. It missed the fibrosis-improvement endpoint at 24 weeks. The 48-week obesity trial and the alcohol use disorder trial are reported mainly through company releases, and no phase 3 trial has reported.
212 adults with biopsy-confirmed MASH and F2 or F3 fibrosis
MASH resolved without fibrosis worsening in 58% (1.2 mg) and 52% (1.8 mg) vs 20% on placebo; fibrosis improvement (33% and 36% vs 28%) was not significant.
Read the study391 adults with obesity or overweight plus a related condition, no diabetes, 48 weeks
Weight fell 10.3%, 11.2% and 15.6% on 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4 mg vs 2.2% on placebo; in a 50-person MRI subgroup, 21.9% of weight lost was lean mass.
Read the study94 adults with BMI 28 or higher and at least 10% liver fat
Liver fat fell 46.6% to 68.5% vs 4.4% on placebo; 55.6% on 1.8 mg reached normal liver fat.
Read the studyAbout 100 adults with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder and BMI over 25, 24 weeks
Heavy drinking days per week fell 4.20 on 2.4 mg vs 2.75 on placebo; nausea 44% vs 24%.
Read the study212 adults with MASH and F2 or F3 fibrosis
Weight fell 4.5% (1.2 mg) and 7.5% (1.8 mg) vs 0.2%; liver stiffness and ELF fibrosis scores fell vs placebo.
Read the study64 adults with MASLD who completed the 12-week trial
Liver fat fell 56.3% to 76.4% vs 14.0% on placebo after 24 weeks; weight fell 6.2%.
Read the studyNo preclinical studies are listed as key studies here. The human data above carries the evidence.
When a new Pemvidutide study in people is published, the daily email covers it.
These are questions the published research has not answered.
No product containing Pemvidutide is approved as a medicine by the FDA.
Phase 3 in MASH (PERFORMA, started August 2026; 52-week readout expected 2029; final approval tied to liver events at about 60 months). FDA Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations for MASH (Breakthrough announced January 5, 2026) and Fast Track for alcohol use disorder. Phase 2 in alcohol-associated liver disease (RESTORE). Altimmune's 2026 releases do not list an obesity phase 3. WADA: not named on the 2026 Prohibited List, but with no approval anywhere it falls under S0 (non-approved substances), prohibited at all times. This is our reading of the S0 rule, not a WADA ruling on pemvidutide by name.
When the FDA or WADA changes Pemvidutide's status, it's in the next morning's email.
No human half-life has been published for Pemvidutide, so we do not draw a clearance curve. Half-lives quoted online for it are usually estimates from animal data.
This table records the doses that trials and approved labels used, with the source for each row. It is a record of research, not a recommendation, and it is open to free members.
Which symptoms are expected and which mean stop and get help: side effects and red flags.
Tap a claim to see what the studies found.
At 24 weeks in IMPACT, fibrosis improved in 33% to 36% vs 28% on placebo, which was not significant. Non-invasive fibrosis scores improved by 48 weeks, but biopsy proof is pending.
In a 50-person MRI subgroup of MOMENTUM, 21.9% of weight lost was lean mass. That is a company analysis of a small group with no direct comparison to another drug.
MOMENTUM showed 15.6% at 48 weeks on the top dose. No head-to-head trial exists and cross-trial comparisons are unreliable.
Only Altimmune makes the clinical product and its full structure is not public. Online vials have no verified identity, purity or dose.
No approved product exists. Trial supplies are handled under the sponsor's protocol.
No public label or stability data.
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