Educational information only. Not medical advice.
Compare compounds, understand the differences, and explore the original studies behind them.
Research reviewed October 15, 2026. Start with the overview, then explore the evidence and sources.
Stages summarize the study designs available for the identified material in this selection. Human stages require studies in which people received that material; measuring the body’s own peptide or testing a different analogue does not qualify. Controlled studies can measure hormone responses or other biological changes, as well as clinical outcomes. A higher stage can include unsuccessful trials; the adjacent summary explains the findings and limitations.
Multiple reports from one trial count as one study for this classification. The selected-report totals below describe library coverage. Outcome-specific certainty would require a separate assessment of study limitations, consistency, applicability, precision and publication bias.
Modified GLP-1 peptide analogue; 31 amino acids
Semaglutide is a modified, 31-amino-acid version of GLP-1, a gut hormone involved in blood-glucose regulation and appetite.
FDA-approved liraglutide formulations treat type 2 diabetes and support long-term weight management in eligible adults and adolescents. Liraglutide also reduces cardiovascular risk in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. Researchers have examined fatty-liver disease and advanced heart failure.
FDA-approved semaglutide formulations cover type 2 diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular risk reduction in specified populations. Ozempic injection also covers kidney outcomes in diabetes-associated chronic kidney disease. Wegovy injection has accelerated approval for adults with noncirrhotic MASH, a metabolic fatty-liver disease with inflammation, and moderate-to-advanced scarring. Indications differ between tablets and injections.
The categories describe the most advanced study designs selected for this library. Each summary explains what was measured and what remains uncertain.
Multiple controlled human studies
Separate large trials established weight loss and fewer major cardiovascular events in defined populations. The advanced-heart-failure trial found no improvement in clinical stability. Longer weight-management follow-up had substantial attrition, and participants who withdrew were not followed afterward, limiting conclusions about lasting diabetes prevention after treatment.
Multiple controlled human studies
Separate controlled trials established weight loss and fewer cardiovascular events. FLOW found fewer cases of serious kidney deterioration or death from kidney or cardiovascular causes in diabetic kidney disease. In metabolic fatty-liver disease with inflammation (MASH), liver inflammation and scarring improved; follow-up continues. Weight regain followed withdrawal in a selected extension. Oral SOUL recorded numerically fewer combined kidney complications and deaths from kidney or cardiovascular causes than placebo; that difference remained uncertain, while kidney filtration declined more slowly.
GLP-1 is a gut hormone. Activating its receptor helps the pancreas release insulin when blood glucose is high and reduces appetite and food intake.
Liraglutide is a modified GLP-1 peptide developed for prolonged action. Its weight-management formulation is a daily injection.
Semaglutide is a modified GLP-1 peptide with longer persistence. Injection and tablet formulations have different product-specific instructions and evidence.
STEP 8 compared semaglutide 2.4 mg injected weekly with liraglutide 3.0 mg injected daily for 68 weeks in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes, alongside diet and activity counseling.
Estimated average weight loss was 6.4%. The active liraglutide group contained 127 people.
Estimated average weight loss was 15.8%. The active semaglutide group contained 126 people. The difference from liraglutide was 9.4 percentage points (95% confidence interval 6.8–12.0).
SUSTAIN 10 compared weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg with daily liraglutide 1.2 mg for 30 weeks in 577 adults taking oral diabetes medicines. HbA1c reflects blood-glucose exposure over preceding months.
Reported HbA1c fell by 1.0 percentage point from a mean starting HbA1c of 8.2% across the trial. Mean body weight fell by 1.9 kg.
Reported HbA1c fell by 1.7 percentage points; the modeled additional reduction versus liraglutide was 0.69 points (95% confidence interval 0.56–0.82). Mean weight fell by 5.8 kg.
Elimination half-life is the time taken for the measured amount in blood to fall by half during elimination. These approximate label estimates come from separate pharmacokinetic assessments.
The injection label reports an elimination half-life of approximately 13 hours.
The label reports an elimination half-life of approximately one week. This helps explain the weekly injection formulation.
The percentages below refer to permanently stopping treatment for any reason in STEP 8. The protocol handled poor tolerance differently between medicines.
27.6% permanently stopped. People unable to tolerate the target amount stopped treatment and could restart with gradual escalation.
13.5% permanently stopped. People unable to tolerate the target amount could receive a lower maintenance amount. In SUSTAIN 10, stopping because of an adverse event was instead more frequent with semaglutide.
Gastrointestinal symptoms, especially nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, are common. Important concerns include pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, dehydration-associated kidney injury, increased heart rate and serious hypersensitivity. The current Victoza label also addresses severe gastrointestinal reactions, hypoglycemia with insulin or secretagogues, and aspiration during anesthesia or deep sedation. Slower gastric emptying provides the physiological link between gastrointestinal effects and procedural risk.
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and abdominal discomfort are common across approved semaglutide products. More serious concerns include pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, dehydration-associated kidney injury and severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Delayed stomach emptying matters around anesthesia because retained stomach contents can enter the lungs. Damage to the retina associated with diabetes, called diabetic retinopathy, requires attention in patients with a history of the condition, especially as glucose control improves. Combining semaglutide with insulin or medicines that stimulate insulin release increases the risk of low blood glucose, called hypoglycemia. These warnings appear in the current Ozempic injection label.
These are selected reports; several reports can come from one trial or cohort. Counts describe this library’s coverage.
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Read how the compounds differ, what direct studies found, and which questions remain open.
BPC-157 has been studied in several animal injury models and a few small human reports. Research on the defined acetylated TB-500 fragment is largely analytical or laboratory work. A small 2026 rat study tested BPC-157 alongside a TB-500-labeled preparation, but the paper did not fully identify that preparation or establish a clear difference between the two compounds.
CJC-1295 with DAC was designed to bind albumin and prolong growth-hormone signaling, and early studies measured its persistence and hormone effects in healthy volunteers. Modified GRF(1–29) shares the modified GHRH core but lacks that extension; most selected reports concern chemical identification, leaving much less human pharmacology to compare.
Direct trials found greater average weight and blood-glucose reductions with tirzepatide at the formulations tested. Receptor biology, available products, approved uses, cardiovascular outcomes and tolerability add context when comparing the two medicines.
Liraglutide and semaglutide activate the same GLP-1 receptor. Direct trials found larger average weight and blood-glucose reductions with semaglutide under the protocols tested. The comparison explains those trials, formulation differences, tolerability and separate cardiovascular evidence.
ACHIEVE-3 directly compared oral orforglipron capsules with oral semaglutide tablets in adults with type 2 diabetes taking metformin. Orforglipron lowered average blood glucose more. More participants reported stomach or intestinal adverse events or stopped treatment because of adverse events, and the average pulse increase was larger with orforglipron. The results concern the trial formulations and strengths; weight-management products need separate context.