Ascletis advances oral triple peptide ASC37 for obesity treatment

Ascletis Pharma Inc. is moving forward with ASC37 oral tablets, a novel triple peptide agonist, into clinical development. The company anticipates submitting an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ASC37 in the second quarter of 2026. This compound was developed using Ascletis’ proprietary Peptide Oral Transport ENhancement Technology (POTENT) and Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Structure-Based Drug Discovery (AISBDD).

Pre-clinical studies showed promising results for ASC37. In head-to-head non-human primate (NHP) studies, ASC37 oral tablets achieved an average absolute oral bioavailability of 4.2%. This was approximately 9-, 30-, and 60-fold higher than semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide, respectively, in oral SNAC formulation. Furthermore, ASC37's drug exposure, measured by AUC, was approximately 57-fold higher than retatrutide's in oral SNAC formulation in NHPs. The average observed half-life for ASC37 oral tablets in NHP studies was approximately 56 hours, supporting once-daily or less frequent oral dosing.

In vitro, ASC37 demonstrated greater potency than retatrutide, being approximately 5-fold more potent for GLP-1R, 4-fold for GIPR, and 4-fold for GCGR. The company will host a conference call in Mandarin on December 1, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. China Standard Time to discuss these developments.