Researchers are reporting early success with CBL-514, an injectable drug that induces fat cell death, potentially offering a new way to reduce both subcutaneous fat (just under the skin) and the more dangerous visceral fat stored deep around the organs.
The results come from two Phase 2 clinical trials, CBL-0204 and CBL-0205, which together involved 280 participants. In a subset of 41 patients, those who received CBL-514 injections for up to 12 weeks showed an average reduction of 12.01 percent in visceral fat. Those given a placebo experienced an average visceral fat increase of 5.68 percent four weeks after their final injection.
"We expect that patients will be pleased by the cosmetic effects, such as the flatter stomach that can come with subcutaneous fat loss," said endocrinologist Timothy Garvey of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who led the trial. "But it is the reduction in body weight, loss of visceral fat and the improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and the like that should be associated with this that will be important for health."
The data also includes animal studies in which rats were treated with the GLP-1 drug tirzepatide together with CBL-514, but details are limited.
Independent experts urged caution. "These results provide encouraging early evidence that CBL-514 can reduce visceral-fat volume in the abdominal region," said epidemiologist Marie Spreckley of the University of Cambridge, who was not involved in the research. "Larger trials with longer follow-up will be important to establish whether the fat reduction lasts and whether it leads to improvements in health."
The findings have been presented at a conference and announced by the company developing CBL-514; they have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.