Adipotide
FTPP · Prohibitin-targeting peptide · CKGGRAKDC-GG-D(KLAKLAK)2
Adipotide does not suppress appetite or alter metabolism. It is designed to find the blood vessels that supply white fat tissue and destroy them, starving the fat of its blood supply so the cells die. The approach came out of cancer research, where the same group had been building peptides that home to tumour vasculature. Applying it to fat was a deliberate translation of that idea.
In obese rhesus monkeys it worked. Four weeks of daily injections produced roughly 11% body weight loss, with the loss coming from fat rather than lean tissue, alongside improved insulin sensitivity. For a mechanism this unusual, that is a genuinely striking result.
The same study found kidney damage. The peptide accumulated in the kidney and produced changes visible on examination of the tissue. This is the reason this compound is on the site with the page written this way. The damage was described as dose-dependent and largely reversible at the doses used, but 'largely reversible in monkeys at four weeks' is not a safety finding that supports a person injecting it. A phase 1 trial in obese prostate cancer patients was initiated and did not produce a published result establishing safety or efficacy, and development has not continued.
How it works
Adipotide is two functional halves joined together. One is a homing sequence that binds prohibitin, a protein found on the surface of blood vessel cells specifically within white fat tissue. The other is a pro-apoptotic sequence that disrupts mitochondrial membranes and triggers cell death.
The homing half delivers the killing half to fat vasculature. Blood vessels supplying the fat die — the fat tissue loses its supply — and the adipocytes die with it. The effect is destruction rather than modulation. That is why the weight loss in the animal studies was rapid.
Prohibitin is not confined to fat vasculature. It is present in the kidney, and the kidney is also where the peptide concentrates as it is cleared. That combination is the most likely explanation for the renal findings, and it is a mechanistic problem, not a formulation one.
Because fat cells are destroyed rather than emptied, the effect would in principle persist after stopping. That is the theoretical appeal, and nothing in humans establishes it.
Regulatory status — United States
Not approved anywhere. A phase 1 trial in obese prostate cancer patients was initiated; no result establishing safety or efficacy has been published, and development has not continued. Sold only as a research chemical.
Last reviewed 16 Aug 2026. Regulatory positions in this category change frequently; we date this line so you can see how current it is.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Weight loss
Published reviewThe purpose it was designed for.
EvidenceAbout 11% body weight loss over four weeks in obese rhesus monkeys, with kidney damage in the same study. A human phase 1 trial was initiated without a published result establishing safety or efficacy.
Identity and clearance
Molecule
- Class
- Chimeric peptide: a prohibitin-homing sequence fused to a pro-apoptotic sequence
- Molecular weight
- 2611 Da
- Length
- 22 amino acids
Sequence
CKGGRAKDC-GG-D(KLAKLAK)2
The D-amino acid pro-apoptotic half is a well-characterised mitochondrial disruptor used in several targeted-delivery peptides.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 10 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primate study protocol | 430 mcg | Once daily for 28 days | Subcutaneous0.43 mg per kilogram daily in the monkey study, the dose that produced both the weight loss and the kidney findings. There is no established human dose, because no published human trial has produced one. | 12.9 u | Published review | Start this |
| Commonly described community protocol | 500 mcg – 1 mg | Daily for a course of two to four weeks | SubcutaneousCommunity figures scaled by guesswork from the animal dose. The animal study is the one that found renal damage, and there is no basis for believing a scaled-down version avoids it. | 15–30 u | Community practice | Start this |
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
CheckRows marked community practice describe what people commonly do, drawn from public discussion. They are not derived from any trial and are not evidence that a dose is safe or effective.
Calculator
Work out what to draw
Pre-filled with a 10 mg vial as a worked example. These are not recommended values — change them to match the vial in front of you.
Draw to 10 units on a 1 mL U-100 syringe. That is 0.1 mL, containing 500 mcg of Adipotide.
10 units sits exactly on a printed line.
Bioalmanac performs arithmetic on values you enter. It does not recommend doses, schedules or compounds, and nothing here is medical advice. Confirm every calculation against your vial and syringe before drawing, and speak with a licensed healthcare provider.
Open this calculation in the full calculator
Units, concentration, bacteriostatic water — the glossary defines the vocabulary, and a unit is not a fixed volume.
Safety
Reported effects
- Kidney damagePublished review
Documented in the primate study
The peptide accumulated in the kidney and produced changes visible in the tissue, described as dose-dependent and largely reversible at the doses studied. This is the defining safety finding for the compound, and it emerged in the same study that produced the weight loss.
- Dehydration and reduced food and water intakePublished review
Observed in the primate study
- Injection site reactionsCommunity practice
Expected from a cytotoxic peptide
The pro-apoptotic half of this molecule kills cells. Injecting it into tissue causes local damage by design.
- Everything in humansCommunity practice
Unknown
No published human trial has characterised the safety of this compound in people.
When to stop
- Any reduction in urine output, swelling in the legs or face, or foamy urine. All are possible signs of kidney injury. Stop and seek medical assessment.
- Rising creatinine or falling eGFR on bloodwork. Kidney damage is usually silent before it is symptomatic, which is why the bloodwork rather than how you feel is the signal.
- Nausea, vomiting or an inability to keep fluids down. Dehydration compounds the renal risk.
- Any allergic response: rash, hives, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
- An injection site that ulcerates or does not heal.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Any degree of kidney impairmentAvoid
The primate study found the peptide accumulating in the kidney and damaging it. Adding that to an already impaired kidney removes the reserve that made the damage recoverable in the animals.
- Dehydration, or anything causing itAvoid
Renal clearance depends on adequate perfusion. A compound that concentrates in and damages the kidney, in someone who is dehydrated, is a foreseeable route to acute kidney injury.
- NSAIDs, or other drugs cleared by or hard on the kidneyAvoid
Stacking nephrotoxic exposures is how recoverable kidney stress becomes damage. This includes routine over-the-counter anti-inflammatories.
- DiabetesAvoid
Diabetic kidney disease is common and often silent in its early stages. A compound with a documented renal signal, in a population with a raised baseline of unrecognised kidney damage, is a poor combination.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingAvoid
This is a cytotoxic peptide designed to kill cells. There is no version of that which is appropriate in pregnancy.
What to expect
HonestlyThere is no human efficacy data for this compound, so there is no evidence-based timeline to give. Any site publishing a week-by-week schedule of expected effects has invented it.
- The monkey result is real: about 11% body weight loss in four weeks, from fat rather than lean mass.
- The same study found kidney damage. Those two findings came from one experiment and cannot be separated when deciding what to do with the information.
- There is no published human trial. A phase 1 study was initiated and produced no published result establishing safety or efficacy, and development stopped.
- The mechanism is destruction of blood vessels, not appetite suppression or metabolic change. It is a fundamentally different and less forgiving kind of intervention than a GLP-1.
- If you use it despite the above, kidney bloodwork before and during is the one thing that could catch harm while it is still reversible. Symptoms will not.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C, protected from light.
- After mixing
- Refrigerated at 2–8 °C. Do not freeze once mixed.
- Long-term, frozen
- Unopened powder is stable at −20 °C or colder.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it. More on assessing quality and COAs.
White cake, clear solution
Standard for a lyophilised peptide of this size.
Collapsed cake or cloudy solution
Heat damage or degradation. Do not use it.
Questions
- How serious was the kidney finding?
- The peptide accumulated in the kidney and produced changes visible on examination of the tissue, dose-dependent and largely reversible at the doses used in monkeys over four weeks. That is reassuring about those animals at that dose for that duration, and it is not a safety finding for a person injecting a research chemical without monitoring.
- Is the weight loss permanent?
- In theory the fat cells are destroyed rather than emptied, so it could be. Nothing in humans establishes that, and the animal studies were four weeks long.
- Why did development stop?
- A phase 1 trial in obese prostate cancer patients was initiated and no result establishing safety or efficacy was published, and the programme did not continue. Compounds usually stop moving forward for a reason, and the absence of a published result is itself information.
References
A peptidomimetic targeting white fat causes weight loss and improved insulin resistance in obese monkeys
Science Translational Medicine, 2011 · Controlled animal study
Obese rhesus monkeys · 0.43 mg/kg subcutaneous, once daily · 28 days
About 11% body weight loss, predominantly fat, with improved insulin sensitivity. Also found dose-dependent renal accumulation and damage, described as largely reversible at the doses studied. Reduced food and water intake was observed.
10.1126/scitranslmed.3002381
Commonly reported community protocols
Bioalmanac editorial summary of public community sources, 2026 · Not a study
Records dose patterns scaled by guesswork from the primate study. No human trial supports them, and they carry no evidential weight about safety or effect.
Related compounds
Semaglutide
A long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for type 2 diabetes and for weight management, dosed once weekly.
Tirzepatide
A once-weekly dual agonist that activates both the GIP and GLP-1 receptors, approved for type 2 diabetes and for weight management.
Retatrutide
An investigational once-weekly triple agonist acting on the GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. Not approved anywhere.
Liraglutide
The first GLP-1 analogue approved for weight loss. A daily injection, superseded by weekly semaglutide but still the best-documented compound in the class.
Next
What to do with Adipotide
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. Adipotide is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about Adipotide alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on Bioalmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 16 Aug 2026