FDA
2 applications listed (Prescription)Drugs@FDA lists 2 applications naming this active ingredient: NDA217806, NDA215866. Marketing status as listed: Prescription. Checked 2026-10-05.
Drugs@FDA via openFDATirzepatide: chemistry, literature and regulatory status
Research-use information. This page summarises published literature and regulator records. It is not guidance for use, not medical advice, and not a statement that any material is suitable for use in people or animals.
What is Tirzepatide?
Tirzepatide is a 39-residue lipidated peptide with a C20 fatty diacid chain that acts as an agonist at both the GIP and GLP-1 receptors. This page covers chemistry, receptor pharmacology and regulatory status only. The research material is not the authorised medicine.
What are the chemical facts for Tirzepatide?
- Name
- Tirzepatide
- Also written
- LY3298176
- Sequence
- 39-residue lipidated peptide (C20 diacid)
- Length
- 39 residues (as described)
- Molecular formula
C225H348N48O68- Average molecular weight
- 4813 g/mol
- CAS number
2023788-19-2(confirmed in PubChem)- PubChem
- CID 166567236
Chemistry checked against PubChem on 2026-10-05. Where the formula can be computed from the listed sequence, it was, and the two routes agree.
How does the literature describe the mechanism of Tirzepatide?
- A pharmacology paper compared tirzepatide's potency and signalling at the GIP and GLP-1 receptors and describes it as an imbalanced and biased agonist.[2]
- A mouse study measured amino-acid profiles in brown adipose tissue after tirzepatide exposure.[1]
Receptor and pathway background: Incretin and glucagon receptors.
What has published research on Tirzepatide looked at?
2 studies are cited for Tirzepatide. Each is labelled by design below, and each entry says what the paper measured.
- 1 animal study
- 1 in vitro
PubMed returns 157 records for the search terms published on the method page (51 of them with a review publication type, 11 with a clinical-trial publication type), checked 5 October 2026. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 296 registered studies whose intervention matches the name (162 interventional), checked 5 October 2026.
- Large numbers of clinical papers exist for tirzepatide. Their titles and endpoints state clinical outcomes, so this hub lists only chemistry, pharmacology and analytical papers.
Studies are listed by what they measured. Papers whose titles state an amount or schedule, or describe a clinical outcome of an approved medicine, are not listed. This is a wording rule, not a quality filter; see the method page.
What is the regulatory status of Tirzepatide?
EMA
1 authorisedEMA medicines database (checked 5 October 2026): 1 centrally authorised medicine (EMEA/H/C/005620). Centrally authorised procedures only.
EMA medicines dataMHRA
Product documents found (106)MHRA Products returns 106 SmPC, PIL or PAR documents for the exact name. Checked 2026-10-05.
MHRA ProductsWADA
Not namedThe WADA 2026 Prohibited List, in force 1 January 2026 does not name this substance. The list names substances by example, so this is not a statement that it is permitted in sport.
WADA Prohibited List 2026Medicinal products containing tirzepatide are authorised by the US FDA, the European Commission and the MHRA. The EMA and the Heads of Medicines Agencies warned on 3 September 2025 about illegal medicines marketed as GLP-1 receptor agonists, naming tirzepatide.
A regulator record is information about a database entry. It is not advice and not a statement that any use is lawful or unlawful in any country. How regulators approach research peptides.
Data dates: regulatory records 2026-10-05; WADA list 2026-10-05.
Which studies are cited for Tirzepatide?
[1] Samms RJ, Zhang G, He W, Ilkayeva O, Droz BA, Bauer SM, et al.. Tirzepatide induces a thermogenic-like amino acid signature in brown adipose tissue. Mol Metab. 2022;64:101550.
Measured amino-acid profiles in brown adipose tissue after tirzepatide exposure in mice.
[2] Willard FS, Douros JD, Gabe MB, Showalter AD, Wainscott DB, Suter TM, et al.. Tirzepatide is an imbalanced and biased dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. JCI Insight. 2020;5.
Measured receptor binding and signalling of tirzepatide at the GIP and GLP-1 receptors, reporting imbalanced and biased agonism.
Data dates: citations read from PubMed 2026-10-05.
Where else in the research library is Tirzepatide covered?
Who wrote this page and how is it checked?
Peptency editorial team, last reviewed 5 October 2026. Citations are read back from PubMed, chemistry is checked against PubChem, and regulator records are read from each regulator's own database on the dates shown. The method page lists every source, search term and rule. Corrections are welcome through the contact details on the About page.