Adipotide

What it is

Adipotide (also called FTPP) is an experimental peptide-based compound built to destroy the small blood vessels that supply white fat. It does this by homing in on a protein on those vessels and then delivering a toxic segment that triggers cell death.

The data comes from mice and monkeys. In obese rhesus monkeys, it caused substantial weight loss over a few weeks. It also caused kidney changes, and the programme did not progress to an approved drug. Anything sold today is an unlicensed research chemical.

This is a very different approach from GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide, which work on appetite. Adipotide is a targeted cell-killing drug, and that is why the risks need to be taken seriously.

History

The targeting approach was developed by Wadih Arap and Renata Pasqualini, with work on tumour and fat blood vessel targeting from the early 2000s. A widely cited 2011 study in Science Translational Medicine reported weight loss in obese monkeys, with reversible kidney changes. A human trial was reported to be planned and was later reported as suspended or terminated, though the details are hard to verify and should be checked against primary sources.

How it works

A targeting section binds to prohibitin on the lining of blood vessels in white fat. A second section is a pro-death peptide that disrupts the mitochondria inside those cells once taken up, causing the vessel cells to die. With less blood supply, fat tissue shrinks. The body also appears to lose weight through lower food intake and metabolic changes. Because prohibitin is also present in some kidney tissue, the kidney is a vulnerable off-target site.

Dosage

• No human dose has been established. The primate study used a daily dose scaled by body weight for about 4 weeks.
• Community protocols exist and cite figures of a few hundred micrograms to around a milligram a day for short courses, but these are not based on human safety data. Do not treat them as validated.
• People who use it typically cycle it for a few weeks only because of kidney concerns. Hydration is part of common advice, though that does not remove the risk.

How it is taken

• Subcutaneous injection using a 29-31G insulin syringe.
• Because of kidney concerns, people who attempt this commonly keep well hydrated and avoid combining it with other kidney-stressing substances. This is risk reduction, not a safety guarantee.

How to reconstitute

• For a 2 mg vial, adding 2 ml of bacteriostatic water gives 1 mg/ml. On a 1 ml (100-unit) insulin syringe, 10 units (0.1 ml) is 0.1 mg and 50 units is 0.5 mg.
• For a 5 mg vial, adding 2.5 ml gives 2 mg/ml. 10 units is 0.2 mg and 25 units is 0.5 mg.
• Add water slowly down the vial wall, swirl gently and do not shake.

How it should arrive

A sealed glass vial with a white to off-white lyophilised powder cake.

How it should look once reconstituted

A clear, colourless solution. Cloudiness or particles mean do not use it.

What to expect, and when

• In monkeys, weight loss became obvious within the first couple of weeks and continued through a 4-week course.
• There is no controlled human timeline.
• Weight regain after stopping was seen in animal work.

Side effects

• Reduced urine output or signs of dehydration, linked to kidney effects.
• Fatigue and reduced appetite.
• Injection-site reactions.
• Changes in kidney function tests in animal studies, which reversed after stopping in the monkey data.

Risks

• Kidney toxicity is the main concern. The primate study found kidney changes, and this is likely why human development stalled.
• Weight loss in the animals was partly linked to dehydration, so some of the effect may not be fat loss alone.
• No completed human safety data exists.
• It kills cells by design. Long-term consequences of destroying blood vessels in fat tissue are unknown.
• If you have any kidney problems, do not use it.
• Quality is unverifiable on the grey market.

Potential gains

• In obese monkeys, about 11 percent weight loss in a month is the figure commonly cited from the primate work, along with improvements in insulin sensitivity. Check this against the original paper.
• No human efficacy data.
• Given the risk, safer and better-evidenced options exist for weight loss. Licensed GLP-1 drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide) are the main ones, available through prescribers.

Other useful information

Adipotide is a good example of a compound that makes sense on paper and in animals but where the kidney risk is a serious reason to stay away. If weight loss is the goal, talk to a doctor about licensed options before you consider an experimental cell-killing peptide.