Mazdutide is approved in China - not by the FDA

A dual GLP-1/glucagon agonist with a China label

Mazdutide (also studied as IBI362 and LY3305677) is a once-weekly injectable that activates both the GLP-1 receptor and the glucagon receptor. Eli Lilly discovered the molecule and licensed Greater China rights to Innovent Biologics. In June 2025, China's National Medical Products Administration approved mazdutide injection for long-term weight management in adults meeting Chinese BMI cutoffs, used with diet and activity. In September 2025, China also approved it for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes. Reviews list the China brand Xinermei.

This page is educational, not medical advice. A China marketing authorization is real. It is not a U.S. approval. Beema Health does not offer mazdutide and has no mazdutide waitlist.

Why U.S. headlines overstate access

U.S. social posts sometimes treat any overseas approval as if the drug is 'out.' That is not how FDA law works. A new active ingredient generally needs its own U.S. application, manufacturing data, and review. As of August 2026, mazdutide does not appear as an FDA-approved U.S. product. There is no Beema checkout for it, and there should be no gray-market workaround.

Lilly's U.S. obesity pipeline that U.S. patients actually hear about in 2026 is different: tirzepatide is already marketed under brand names, orforglipron was approved as Foundayo, and retatrutide remains investigational. Mazdutide is the China-focused dual glucagon/GLP-1 story. Conflating those assets leads people to buy mislabeled peptides.

How glucagon plus GLP-1 differs from GIP plus GLP-1

GLP-1 receptor activity reduces appetite and slows gastric emptying. Glucagon receptor activity can increase energy expenditure and affect hepatic fat metabolism in research settings. That pairing is not the same as tirzepatide's GIP plus GLP-1 pairing. Researchers study both dual designs because obesity biology is not a single switch.

Extra glucagon activity is also why clinicians watch heart rate, gastrointestinal tolerance, and liver-related labs in this subclass. Until FDA reviews a complete U.S. package, Americans should treat mazdutide safety as incompletely characterized for U.S. labeling, even if Chinese regulators have issued a local label.

• Mazdutide: GLP-1 + glucagon (China-approved; not FDA-approved)
• Tirzepatide: GLP-1 + GIP (FDA-approved branded products exist)
• Retatrutide: GLP-1 + GIP + glucagon (investigational as of August 2026)

How to read Chinese Phase 3 numbers

Peer-reviewed Phase 3 papers from the Chinese development program reported substantial mean weight loss versus placebo at weekly doses studied for obesity. A 2025 first-approval review in Drugs summarizes those milestones and the June 2025 NMPA decision. Percentages from a China trial are still trial percentages. They are not a promise for a U.S. patient, and they are not a reason to import pens.

BMI thresholds used in China (for example BMI 28, or 24 with a comorbidity) also differ from the BMI 30 / 27-plus-comorbidity pattern common on U.S. obesity labels. Eligibility copy does not translate one-for-one.

Importation and 'research mazdutide' risks

Unregulated peptide vendors often list mazdutide next to retatrutide. Those listings are not pharmacies filling a U.S. prescription. Identity, sterility, and dose are unverified. GLP-1-class weight-management medicines are prescription drugs, not laboratory reagents.

Gastrointestinal effects are expected with GLP-1 receptor agonists. Adding glucagon activity does not make a DIY injection safer. If you already take an incretin medicine, stacking an unknown second agonist is a medical risk, not a biohack.

What Beema can discuss instead

Beema Health provides nationwide telehealth intake for adults 18 and older. A licensed provider may prescribe compounded semaglutide or compounded tirzepatide when it is legally available and clinically appropriate. Compounded semaglutide is not FDA-approved. Compounded tirzepatide is not FDA-approved. Neither is mazdutide in the United States.

If mazdutide news is what you wanted to understand, you now have the geographic fact that matters: China yes, FDA no, Beema no. For care that exists today, use the live weight-loss, semaglutide, and tirzepatide pages.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. [1] Keam SJ. Mazdutide: First Approval. Drugs. 2025. Summarizes NMPA approvals for weight management and type 2 diabetes in China.
2. [2] National Medical Products Administration (China). Mazdutide injection approval notice (Chinese), June 2025.
3. [3] U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Foreign approvals do not authorize marketing or compounding of a new drug in the United States.
4. [4] Jastreboff AM, Aronne LJ, Ahmad NN, et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity (SURMOUNT-1). N Engl J Med. 2022.