Survodutide
Survodutide (GLP-1 / Glucagon Dual Agonist)
Also called BI 456906, survodutide, glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist
The liver-fat dual
Survodutide is a weekly weight-loss injection from Boehringer Ingelheim that pulls two levers at once: it turns down appetite like Ozempic does, and separately tells your body to burn more energy. In its main trial people lost around 19% of their body weight. It is still in testing and not on sale.
Most weight-loss drugs work on one thing: they make you less hungry. Survodutide does that, and then does something else as well. Alongside the appetite signal it borrows a hormone called glucagon, which tells your body to burn through its own fuel, and which acts directly on the liver. That second half is why this one is being watched by people who care about fatty liver rather than just the number on the scale. In its main trial people were down around 19% after 46 weeks, which puts it in the same bracket as the best drugs already on the market. It is still in testing, so there is no way to get it yet.
- Half-life
- About a week, which is why it is a weekly shot
- Route
- One injection under the skin, once a week
- Typical dose
- Up to 4.8 mg, built up slowly over months
- Availability
- Research-only
Human trials published, with more underway
What people use Survodutide for
Reported uses, roughly in order of how often they are the reason someone goes looking. Whether it works for any of them is a separate question, answered under each one.
- Weight loss
- The reason it exists. In the Phase 2 trial the highest dose put people around 19% down over 46 weeks, which sits in the same territory as tirzepatide rather than behind it.
- Fatty liver
- This is where the glucagon half gets interesting. Glucagon acts directly on the liver, and survodutide has shown real results on liver fat and scarring, which most weight-loss drugs only improve indirectly by making you lighter.
Mechanism of Action
How Survodutide works
Two hormones, two jobs.
- The appetite half. It copies GLP-1, the hormone your gut releases when food arrives. That slows your stomach down and turns hunger off in the brain. This is the same lever Ozempic pulls.
- The burn half. It also copies glucagon, which most people only know as the emergency sugar hormone. Given steadily instead, glucagon nudges your body to spend more energy rather than store it, so you are losing on both ends: eating less and burning more.
- Why the liver keeps coming up. Glucagon receptors are concentrated in the liver, so this drug lands there harder than a pure appetite drug does. In trials it cleared liver fat and improved scarring, which most weight-loss drugs only manage second-hand by making you smaller.
- The trade-off. Speeding your metabolism up is not free. It is the reason people on it sit at a slightly higher heart rate.
Survodutide dosage calculator
Opens at 4.8 mg, from the doses reported for Survodutide. Change any box to match your own vial. It works out where to pull the plunger to.
How much is in the vial?
Printed on the label, in milligrams
How much water did you add?
Bacteriostatic water, in millilitres
What dose are you taking?
The dose you already intend to use
Which syringe?
Barrel size, printed on the wrapper
Draw to
Too much
That dose is 0.96 mL, more than a 0.5 mL syringe holds. Use a larger syringe, or add less water.
- Strength once mixed
- 5 mg/mL
- Doses in the vial
- 2
10 mg in 2 mL makes 5 mg/mL. A 4.8 mg dose is 0.96 mL of that, which is more than the barrel holds.
This is arithmetic, not advice. It converts a dose you already have into a mark on a syringe. It does not tell you what dose to take, and Survodutide is not prescribed by us. Dosing belongs with a qualified clinician.
Survodutide side effects: what people reported
The usual stomach complaints, plus one thing that is specific to this drug: because glucagon speeds your metabolism up, your heart rate tends to sit a little higher than it did.
What most people notice
- Nausea, especially in the first day or two after a shot
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Constipation
- Appetite dropping off sharply, which is the point but can catch you out
Worth keeping an eye on
- A resting heart rate a few beats higher than normal
- Feeling unusually warm, which fits with the metabolic-rate effect
- Tiredness while you are eating a lot less than usual
Dose matters. Almost all of it clusters in the weeks when the dose is being raised. People who go up slowly report a far easier time than people who rush it.
Source: Phase 2 dose-finding trial, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2024. This is a summary of published findings, not a complete safety profile and not medical advice. Survodutide should only be considered with a qualified clinician who knows your history.
Your Genetics & Survodutide
The genes involved in how Survodutide works
Survodutide works through the receptors these genes build, and the genes vary from person to person. Researchers have linked some of that variation to differences in how people respond. A DNA report tells you which versions you carry.
The glucagon arm is what makes survodutide different: it raises how much energy you burn, and pushes the liver to burn its own fat. The Gly40Ser GCGR variant alters glucagon-receptor function, so it's the most mechanism-relevant gene for this drug, and irrelevant to GLP-1-only agents.
IRS1 · ••
IRS1 variants associate with insulin resistance and a visceral-fat-prone metabolic background — exactly the phenotype survodutide's liver-targeting mechanism is built for.
FTO · ••
Higher genetic set-point and appetite drive. As with all appetite drugs, the case for a stronger one grows with a higher set-point.
TCF7L2 · ••
T-allele carriers have blunted insulin secretion; the GLP-1 arm of survodutide can partly compensate for this beta-cell load.
The dots after each gene are where your own result goes. Your report fills them in with the two letters you carry at that position.
Which variants do you carry?
Upload your DNA data, or get tested through our partner, to find out.
Commonly combined with
What Survodutide is most often paired with, and why:
Tesamorelin
Visceral Fat StackStrong EvidenceTesamorelin (GHRH Analog)
A stabilized growth-hormone-releasing-hormone (GHRH) analog and the only GH-axis peptide with an FDA approval (Egrifta, for visceral fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy). It stimulates your own pulsatile GH release, which drives IGF-1 and preferential breakdown of visceral (deep belly) fat — backed by real randomized trial data on VAT reduction. Off-label use for visceral fat is common. WADA-banned in sport.
3
Gene variants
40+
Studies
MOTS-c
Metabolic StackEmerging EvidenceMitochondrial Open Reading Frame of the 12S rRNA Type-c
A peptide written not in your own genome but in the tiny separate one your mitochondria carry, a leftover from when they were free-living bacteria. It behaves like an exercise signal: it switches on the same fuel-burning pathway a hard workout does. Levels fall with age, which is why it turns up in longevity conversations, and essentially all of the good data is in mice.
3
Gene variants
25+
Studies
Sourcing & access
Where to buy Survodutide
Survodutide is sold as a research compound, not a licensed medicine, so quality and legal status vary widely by country and vendor. If you're sourcing it, treat independent purity testing as non-negotiable.
- Insist on a recent third-party Certificate of Analysis (COA) for the exact batch — labs like Janoshik verify purity and identity.
- Check the legal status where you live before ordering — it differs from country to country.
- Reconstitute correctly with bacteriostatic water and start at a conservative dose.
Before you buy: see whether your DNA actually responds to Survodutide, and at what dose. Analyze my DNA — $99 →
Educational information only, not medical advice. Some outbound links are affiliate links (disclosed, at no extra cost to you). Most peptides are not FDA-approved — consult a qualified professional and check your local laws before purchasing.
Worth knowing before you consider Survodutide
Interactions and situations where there is a specific reason to be careful. Where the honest answer is that nobody has studied something, it says so and says what that leaves open.
- You cannot get it yet
- Still in trials. There is no prescription route and no pharmacy that can make it. Anything sold under this name online is not the trial compound.
- The dose ramp is not optional
- This one is built up over months rather than weeks. People who try to shortcut that are the ones who end up too nauseated to continue.
- Same rebound as the rest of the class
- Stop it and appetite comes back, and so does the weight. Nothing about the glucagon half changes that.
Last updated
Frequently Asked Questions
What is survodutide used for?
Weight loss, and fatty liver. It works on appetite like Ozempic does, and separately borrows glucagon to make your body burn more energy. Glucagon acts strongly on the liver, which is why this one has produced better liver results than the drugs that only work on appetite.
How is it different from retatrutide?
Both use glucagon. Retatrutide adds a third hormone on top (GIP), while survodutide sticks to two dual with no GIP. Survodutide's clearest distinction is its liver-fat and MASH-resolution data.
Is survodutide approved?
No. It is still in its final round of trials and has not been approved anywhere. It is not an available prescription.
Your next move
Two ways forward with Survodutide.
Not sure it's for you?
How does Survodutide relate to your genes?
Your report scores Survodutide against your receptor, pharmacogene and pathway variants and shows the genetic markers relevant to it, with commonly cited dosing information to review with a clinician.
Analyze my DNA — $99