Hengrui and Kailera report ribupatide Phase 2 oral data at ADA 2026
Hengrui Pharma and its licensing partner Kailera Therapeutics presented clinical data for ribupatide, a GLP-1/GIP receptor dual agonist, at the American Diabetes Association's 86th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans this week, covering both the oral and injectable formulations of the compound.
The headline result came from Hengrui's Phase 2 randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of once-daily oral ribupatide in 166 adults with obesity in China. The trial met its primary endpoint: participants on the 25 mg dose achieved a mean weight loss of 12.1% from baseline at week 26, with no observed plateau, compared with 2.3% for placebo. The 50 mg dose produced the same mean reduction, while the 10 mg arm achieved 6.9%. Notably, 38.6% of participants on the 25 mg dose achieved at least 15% body weight reduction — a threshold increasingly treated as a benchmark of clinical meaningfulness in the obesity field.
Safety and tolerability
The safety profile was consistent with GLP-1-class agents. Gastrointestinal adverse events were the most common treatment-emergent effects, with nausea reported in up to 22.7% of participants (25 mg arm) and vomiting in up to 11.4% — figures the companies characterised as low relative to the class. Critically, no permanent treatment discontinuations or dose reductions due to GI adverse events were reported, which distinguishes the oral programme from some earlier oral GLP-1 candidates that suffered high drop-out rates in Phase 2.
Kailera separately presented Phase 1 single ascending dose data from a 49-participant Australian trial of ribupatide injection — the first ribupatide injection data generated outside China. The study demonstrated comparable pharmacokinetics and tolerability between participants of Asian and non-Asian descent when exposure was adjusted for baseline body weight, an important bridging result for global regulatory submissions. A single 3 mg dose produced a mean weight loss of 5.5% over 29 days without titration.
Market context and competitive landscape
The GLP-1/GIP dual agonist obesity market is dominated by Eli Lilly's tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound), which demonstrated up to 22.5% weight loss in the SURMOUNT-1 Phase 3 trial and is approved in both the US and Europe. Ribupatide's Phase 2 oral data, at 12.1%, positions it below tirzepatide's injectable benchmark but potentially competitive with oral semaglutide (Novo Nordisk's Rybelsus), which was not originally developed for obesity and shows more modest weight-loss outcomes at approved doses.
The more strategically significant comparison may be with Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide 50 mg programme and Eli Lilly's own oral GLP-1 candidate orforglipron, both of which are in or approaching Phase 3. An oral GLP-1/GIP dual agonist with a 12% weight-loss signal and no dose-limiting GI discontinuations would represent a differentiated profile if it replicates in a larger, more ethnically diverse population — but analysts will note the current dataset is China-only, enrolled 166 participants, and ran only to 26 weeks.
Hengrui has filed an NDA with China's NMPA for once-weekly ribupatide injection for long-term weight management. Kailera holds exclusive global rights outside Greater China and is running the KaiNETIC Phase 3 programme for the injectable. Kailera's chief medical officer Scott Wasserman said the company plans to initiate global Phase 3 trials for ribupatide oral "as early as the first half of 2027," subject to regulatory alignment with the FDA and other agencies.
The combined Phase 3 strategy — injectable already in global trials, oral Phase 3 planned for 2027 — gives Kailera a broader platform than most single-asset obesity biotechs, though the commercialisation window is narrowing as larger players consolidate their positions in the category.