Fat loss without GLP-1
The weight-loss compounds that are not GLP-1 or amylin drugs. People arrive here looking for something that works like Ozempic without being Ozempic.
These are the compounds people reach for when they want the result the GLP-1s deliver without the GLP-1s. The evidence does not support the substitution. Nothing here is approved for ordinary weight loss: setmelanotide is approved for rare genetic forms of obesity, and L-carnitine for carnitine deficiency.
The rest is a mix of growth hormone fragments, melanocortin compounds, mitochondrial uncouplers, exercise mimetics and a few drugs that are not peptides at all. AOD-9604 went through six human trials with roughly 900 people and failed its primary endpoint, which is a useful result even though it is not the one anyone wanted.
Mitochondrial uncouplers carry a different kind of risk from everything else here. DNP, the best-known one, has killed people at doses close to the ones taken deliberately. BAM15, the uncoupler sold here, was designed to be safer and has never been tested in a person.
Blocks NNMT, an enzyme that helps fat cells store fat. Studied for fat loss and energy on very little human data.
A growth hormone fragment built to keep the fat-burning effect and drop the rest. Human proof that it works is weak.
Tans skin fast and also raises libido and cuts appetite. Hitting that many receptors brings more side effects.
Nicknamed 'exercise in a molecule' for pushing cells to act as if you had worked out. There is no human data yet.
Raises your own growth hormone and triggers intense hunger, so it is mostly used for bulking.
The shuttle that carries fat into the part of the cell that burns it.
The tail end of growth hormone, the part linked to fat breakdown. Human evidence is thin.
Kills the blood vessels feeding fat. It caused dramatic fat loss in animals and kidney damage with it.
Suppresses hunger through the brain's reward system, the way a stimulant does, and carries more heart risk for it.
Switches on AMPK, the cell's low-energy sensor. The amounts in the famous animal studies do not scale to a person.
A short peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA that acts as a cell-protection signal. Human data is limited.
Makes mitochondria leak their charge as heat, so cells burn more for the same work. It has never been tested in people.
A 4-amino-acid Khavinson peptide sold for pancreas function and blood sugar, with very little human research.
A compounded shot of methionine, inositol and choline, usually with B12. Given weekly at clinics as a fat-loss aid.
An abandoned metabolic drug. Animal testing found tumors across multiple organs, and it is still sold for endurance.
Taken by mouth to hold on AMPK, the switch the body normally flips during exercise or fasting.
Acts on the body clock and is sold as exercise in a capsule. Published work found it is barely absorbed by mouth.
Kalohexis's oral peptide that switches on both the MC3 and MC4 appetite receptors, now in a phase 1 for obesity.
A peptide the body makes, linked to insulin sensitivity and fatty liver. Known from measuring it, not from giving it.
Antag's GIP receptor blocker, tested on top of semaglutide to see whether blocking GIP adds weight loss.
A fragment muscle releases during exercise, reported to turn white fat brown. The blood tests for it proved unreliable.
Restores the missing 'I'm full' signal in people with rare genetic defects in one hunger pathway.
Found by searching genome databases. Animal work links it to appetite and weight, with no human trial of giving it.
Common questions
Are these alternatives to Ozempic?
Not in the sense people usually mean. Nothing here is approved for ordinary weight loss, and most of these compounds have never been tested for weight loss in a person. Setmelanotide, the closest thing to an approved weight drug on the page, treats rare genetic forms of obesity rather than ordinary weight gain.
Why are they in a separate group from the GLP-1s?
Because they work differently and the evidence behind them is much thinner. The GLP-1 group is built on large published trials and several approved drugs. Across the 23 compounds here: 2 approved by the FDA, 1 available on prescription or through a compounding pharmacy, 20 with no approval anywhere. None of them is approved for ordinary weight loss.
Does anything here have human trial results for weight loss?
A few do. Setmelanotide has positive trials in rare genetic forms of obesity, and tesofensine reported weight loss in a phase 2 trial. AOD-9604 ran six human trials with around 900 participants, including a 502-person study over 24 weeks, and did not meet its primary endpoint. Most of the rest have never been tested for weight loss in a person.