New weight-loss injection may help create a flatter waistline within weeks by targeting belly fat directly

Could a drug that causes fat cells to destroy themselves become the next major GLP-1 rival?

CBL-514 is designed to target fat cells, and a new study found it helped shrink participants’ waistlines.

Early findings also suggest the results may be more durable than expected.

By contrast, GLP-1 drugs mainly reduce fat but can also lead to the loss of as much as 25% of essential lean mass. And when people stop taking GLP-1s, they often regain about two-thirds of the weight they lost within a year.

One author said patients are likely to appreciate the visible changes, including a flatter stomach that may result from reduced subcutaneous fat.

But, the author added, the more important benefits for health are expected to come from lower body weight, less visceral fat, and improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and related measures.

Some specialists say CBL-514 could prove to be “a more fundamental obesity therapy” than GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic.

What is CBL-514?

Like many GLP-1 medications, CBL-514 is given by injection. But instead of slowing digestion and curbing appetite, it acts more directly at the treatment site.

It interferes with a key survival pathway in fat cells, causing them to die where the shot is given: the belly.

New Phase 2 trial data indicates that the drug reduces both subcutaneous fat, which sits just under the skin, and visceral fat, which lies deeper in the body and surrounds organs. Visceral fat is especially linked to conditions such as diabetes and cardiometabolic problems, including heart attacks and strokes.

Researchers say common procedures that remove subcutaneous fat, such as liposuction and abdominoplasty, or a tummy tuck, are much more invasive. Those operations also carry risks that go well beyond cosmetic concerns, including infection, blood-vessel blockages, embolisms and even puncture of an internal organ.

CBL-514 reduces both types of fat without surgery.

“This is a highly innovative approach to obesity pharmacotherapy that has produced some remarkable results in early human trials,” said Dr. W. Timothy Garvey, an adviser to Caliway, the company developing CBL-514, and a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

What the latest data shows

In the latest studies, participants received a CBL-514 injection every three weeks. The number of injections varied depending on the thickness of their belly fat, which declined as the drug took effect.

After four weeks, average visceral abdominal fat had already fallen by 12%. Eight weeks after treatment began, fat levels were still 10.45% below the starting point.

Researchers believe that once these fat cells are eliminated, they may not readily grow back, making weight regain harder.

So far, the drug’s long-lasting effects after treatment stops have only been demonstrated in rats, and researchers are still investigating whether the same result can be achieved in humans.

They are also examining whether CBL-514 could be paired with a GLP-1 drug to help patients come off that medication while lowering the chance of weight regain.

Other than injection-site reactions described as mostly mild to moderate and temporary, including pain, swelling and redness, the drug was generally well tolerated, researchers said. No serious adverse events were reported.

The drug is now moving into Phase 3 trials, the final stage before FDA approval.