Every compound named below — including the two that hold clinical approvals — is supplied by RS Bio Labs strictly as a laboratory research material. Our material is not a medicine, not FDA-approved, and not intended or authorised for human consumption or any therapeutic use. This article maps regulatory status for scientific context only; it is written for qualified researchers and is not medical advice.
Why the status map matters
"GLP-1" has become shorthand for an entire generation of metabolic compounds, but that convenience hides a hard distinction that researchers cannot afford to blur: the difference between a molecule that has cleared regulatory review as a medicine and one that is still being tested. In 2026 the class spans both — a handful of approved products and a deep bench of late-stage investigational candidates — and the two groups are governed by completely different evidentiary standards. This piece lays out where each major compound actually sits. For the mechanistic detail behind the receptor targets that define the class, our explainer on GLP-1 vs GIP vs glucagon agonists unpacks what each receptor arm does.
The 2026 status table
Here is the class at a glance. "FDA status" refers to whether the molecule is an approved medicine in a licensed clinical formulation — not to the research-grade material sold by RS Bio Labs, which is never an approved product regardless of the compound.
| Compound | Receptor targets | Developer | FDA status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide | GLP-1 (single) | Novo Nordisk | Approved (Ozempic / Wegovy) |
| Tirzepatide | GIP + GLP-1 (dual) | Eli Lilly | Approved (Mounjaro / Zepbound) |
| Retatrutide | GIP + GLP-1 + glucagon (triple) | Eli Lilly | Investigational (Phase 3, TRIUMPH) |
| Cagrilintide | Amylin / calcitonin (non-incretin) | Novo Nordisk | Investigational (Phase 3 as CagriSema) |
| Survodutide | GLP-1 + glucagon (dual) | Boehringer Ingelheim / Zealand | Investigational (Phase 3, MASH-focused) |
| Mazdutide | GLP-1 + glucagon (dual) | Innovent / Eli Lilly | Investigational (Phase 3; NMPA review, China) |
Approved: Semaglutide and Tirzepatide
Only two compounds in this map are FDA-approved medicines. Semaglutide (Novo Nordisk) is the single GLP-1 receptor agonist that made the class famous, marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy. It carries the deepest evidence base of any incretin compound: the STEP-1 obesity trial reported roughly 15% mean body-weight reduction, and — uniquely — the SELECT trial demonstrated hard cardiovascular benefit in people with obesity but without diabetes. Its ~7-day half-life supports once-weekly dosing.
Tirzepatide (Eli Lilly, code LY3298176) is the dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist marketed as Mounjaro (type 2 diabetes) and Zepbound (chronic weight management). By adding a second incretin receptor it raised the ceiling again, reaching approximately 22.5% body-weight reduction at the top dose in SURMOUNT-1, and it outperformed once-weekly semaglutide on glycaemic control in the head-to-head SURPASS-2 trial. Both molecules have full profiles in our knowledgebase — see Semaglutide and Tirzepatide. Researchers can also buy Semaglutide UK and buy Tirzepatide UK as research-grade material.
Investigational: Retatrutide, Cagrilintide, Survodutide, Mazdutide
The rest of the field is investigational — meaning it is still in clinical testing and not approved by the FDA or any regulator as a medicine. This is the single most important line in the whole landscape, and it is easy to get wrong.
Retatrutide (Eli Lilly, LY3437943) is the triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon agonist and the most closely watched of the group. In the Phase 2 TRIUMPH-1 trial it posted the largest figure yet reported for the class — roughly 24.2% body-weight reduction at 48 weeks, with the curve still descending at study end — and it has since advanced into the Phase 3 TRIUMPH programme. But large numbers are not approval: Retatrutide remains investigational and is not a licensed medicine anywhere. Its full profile is on our Retatrutide page, and research-grade material is available if you buy Retatrutide UK.
Cagrilintide (Novo Nordisk, AM833) sits slightly outside the incretin family: it is a long-acting amylin analogue, not a GLP-1, GIP or glucagon agonist. Its prominence comes from the CagriSema combination with semaglutide 2.4 mg, which advanced to the Phase 3 REDEFINE obesity programme. It remains investigational. See our Cagrilintide profile for the combination rationale.
Survodutide (Boehringer Ingelheim / Zealand Pharma, BI 456906) is a GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist whose standout data is hepatic: in a Phase 2 trial it improved metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) without worsening fibrosis, work that earned an FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for MASH and a Phase 3 programme. A Breakthrough Therapy designation accelerates review — it is not an approval. Mazdutide (Innovent / Eli Lilly, IBI362) is another GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist, built on the oxyntomodulin scaffold; its first weight-management application is under review by China's NMPA, and it remains investigational elsewhere. See the Survodutide and Mazdutide profiles for detail.
What separates approved from investigational
The gap between the two groups is not the size of the trial result — it is the completeness of the evidence and the regulatory verdict. An approved medicine has passed pivotal Phase 3 trials, a full safety review and a regulator's benefit-risk judgement for a defined indication and formulation. An investigational compound, however striking its early data, has not yet cleared that bar; its safety and efficacy profile is, by definition, still being written. Phase 2 figures like Retatrutide's come from smaller, shorter studies that were never designed to be compared head-to-head against the approved products' Phase 3 datasets.
This is also why the pipeline is so crowded. Each added receptor arm — GIP onto GLP-1, then glucagon onto both, or amylin agonism alongside — has tended to raise the ceiling on effect in early research, so developers are racing to test every plausible combination. That activity is exactly what a healthy late-stage field looks like; it is not evidence that any specific new approval has happened. We have deliberately avoided asserting any particular 2026 FDA decision here, because the honest, sourceable position is the status itself: two approved, the rest investigational.
The bottom line
As of 2026 the map is clean. Semaglutide and Tirzepatide are FDA-approved medicines; Retatrutide, Cagrilintide, Survodutide and Mazdutide are investigational and not approved. RS Bio Labs supplies all six strictly as research reagents for in vitro use — the approved compounds included, our material is research-grade, not a medicine and not for human consumption. For a closer look at how the three incretin generations stack up, see our Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide vs Retatrutide comparison, or go straight to the research-grade material: buy Retatrutide UK, buy Tirzepatide UK and buy Semaglutide UK, each ≥99% purity.
