GLP-3 RT: What the Research Says About the Triple-Agonist Peptide

GLP-3 RT is our catalog name for a research peptide in the incretin family: lab-made mimics of the hormones your gut releases after a meal. The '3' is the headline. Its reference compound, the molecule studied in the published trials, is a single peptide built to activate three hormone receptors at once.¹

Here's the team it switches on:

• GLP-1 receptor. Responds to a gut hormone involved in insulin release and appetite signals.
• GIP receptor. The second incretin receptor, also linked to insulin release after meals.
• Glucagon receptor. The wildcard. In mouse research, adding glucagon-receptor activity raised energy expenditure on top of the lower food intake driven by the other two receptors.¹

3

hormone receptors activated¹

~6 days

half-life measured in the phase 1b study⁴

338

adults in the landmark phase 2 trial²

In 2023, the New England Journal of Medicine published a 48-week, placebo-controlled trial of the reference compound in 338 adults with a high body-mass index. The main goal was to measure how body weight changed. The results made headlines.²

Two details stand out. First, the effect was dose-dependent: each step up in study dose produced a bigger average change. Second, the average kept falling between week 24 and week 48, from −17.5% to −24.2%.²

The phase 2 program didn't stop at one trial. Two more studies looked at other metabolic markers.

Blood sugar. In a trial of 281 adults with type 2 diabetes, HbA1c (a long-term blood-sugar marker) fell by up to 2.02 percentage points at 24 weeks in the top study-dose group, versus almost no change on placebo. In the top groups, the drop was also larger than with an established GLP-1 comparator. Body weight in the top group was down 16.94% at 36 weeks.⁵

Liver fat. A substudy followed 98 participants with excess liver fat (a condition called MASLD). After 24 weeks, liver fat in the top study-dose group had fallen by 82.4%, versus a 0.3% rise on placebo. 86% of that group reached a normal liver-fat level, under 5%.³

−2.02

points of HbA1c at 24 weeks, top group⁵

−82.4%

liver fat at 24 weeks, top group³

86%

of that group reached normal liver fat³

The reference compound was first fully described in 2022. In lab tests it showed balanced activity at the glucagon and GLP-1 receptors, with stronger activity at GIP. In mice, it lowered body weight and improved blood-sugar control. In an early human safety study, a single dose kept body weight lower for up to 43 days.¹

A 12-week phase 1b study in 72 adults with type 2 diabetes came next. It reported dose-dependent drops in blood sugar and body weight, and a half-life of about six days.⁴ The phase 2 results followed in 2023, and the liver substudy in 2024.

What they do give researchers is a map: which receptors matter, which markers move and how fast. That's why the triple-agonist design is one of the most-watched ideas in metabolic research right now.

Every GLP-3 RT lot we sell is tested by an independent lab before release. The certificate shows the lot number and the exact measured HPLC purity. Read the current one in the GLP-3 RT lab reports.