Daewon Pharmaceutical to unveil quadruple-action obesity drug data at ADA 2026, with 50% weight loss in mice

Daewon Pharmaceutical will present key preclinical data on a next-generation quadruple-action obesity drug candidate at one of the world's most prestigious diabetes conferences, positioning the compound as a potential advance beyond the limitations of existing metabolic disease treatments.

The company said Thursday it will participate in the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions (ADA 2026), held Friday through Monday in New Orleans, where it will present preclinical results for a GLP-1/GIP/GCG/Gastrin quadruple agonist developed jointly with biotech venture Pharmos Bioscience.

The drug candidate is designed as a first-in-class, multi-target pipeline compound that not only delivers weight-loss efficacy — central to any obesity treatment — but also simultaneously protects pancreatic beta cells and improves kidney function.

Existing obesity drugs on the market have consistently drawn clinical concern over early-onset weight-loss plateaus during long-term use and the gradual deterioration of organ function. Daewon said the preclinical data demonstrate the potential to overcome those persistent limitations of current metabolic disease treatments.

The quadruple agonist builds on the established GLP-1/GIP/GCG triple-agonist mechanism by adding gastrin receptor activation — which the company describes as a global first — to enhance cell regeneration and organ protection. In preclinical trials using a diet-induced obese mouse model, the compound produced a weight reduction of more than 50 percent compared with the control group by day 22 of administration. It also lowered fasting blood glucose levels significantly — down to as low as 70 mg/dL in some groups, compared with 223 mg/dL in the control group — confirming strong pharmacological efficacy.

At the conference, Daewon plans to share detailed preclinical data — including its proprietary multi-agonist design approach, differentiated receptor activation profiles, and animal-model results on body weight, food intake and blood glucose changes — with global pharmaceutical companies and medical professionals.

"We have consistently built a robust body of preclinical data on a differentiated multi-agonist pipeline in the metabolic disease space," said Kim Ju-il, executive vice president of R&D at Daewon Pharmaceutical. "Building on the integration of the gastrin mechanism, we will develop an innovative metabolic disease drug that goes beyond simple obesity treatment to simultaneously achieve the recovery of organ function."