Hanmi Pharmaceutical has unveiled a next-generation obesity drug candidate aimed at preserving and increasing muscle. The strategy seeks to overcome the limitations of existing glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 class obesity treatments, which can cause muscle loss during the weight-reduction process.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Tuesday that it presented for the first time the preclinical research results of "HM500197," a muscle-building obesity drug candidate, at the American Diabetes Association meeting (ADA 2026) recently held in New Orleans.
HM500197 is a peptide-based candidate that induces increased muscle mass by blocking "myostatin," a protein that inhibits muscle growth. Unlike many muscle-preservation treatments currently in development that are based on antibodies or Fc fusion proteins, it is distinguished by applying a peptide platform.
According to Hanmi Pharmaceutical, HM500197 showed a level of myostatin-blocking effect similar to bimagrumab, which was developed as a muscle-preservation treatment, in test-tube studies. It did not affect other proteins, confirming its selectivity.
In animal experiments, the muscle mass increase effect was confirmed. When HM500197 was administered to mouse models with induced obesity, muscle mass increased as the dosage increased. In particular, when used together with GLP-1 class drugs, it showed a body fat-focused weight-loss effect while reducing muscle loss, the company explained.
At this ADA meeting, Hanmi Pharmaceutical presented a total of eight research results related to obesity treatments, including HM500197. It also unveiled research covering the combination potential of "HM17321," another muscle-building obesity drug candidate, as well as its musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and renal protection effects. HM17321 is currently undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials in the United States.
In the obesity drug market, "high-quality weight loss" that preserves or increases muscle, going beyond simple weight reduction, has recently emerged as a new development trend. While GLP-1 class treatments have proven powerful weight-loss effects, the fact that lean body mass and muscle mass reduction can accompany the reduction process has been pointed out as a limitation. As a result, competition to develop next-generation obesity treatments that reduce weight while minimizing muscle loss is also intensifying.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical has built an obesity treatment pipeline that extends through efpeglenatide, triple agonist "HM15275," "HM17321," and "HM500197." Through this unveiling of HM500197, it has expanded its development scope into the muscle-preservation and muscle-building areas.
Choi In-young, executive vice president and head of Hanmi Pharmaceutical's Future Growth Division, stressed, "The muscle-building obesity drug pipeline will be a game changer that shifts the global market landscape," and added, "We will overcome the limitations of obesity treatments currently on the market and present a new treatment paradigm."
