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Clinical trial sites in England are recruiting patients to test an investigational weight-loss drug ribupatide (KAI-9531; Kailera), which acts as a dual glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist.
The phase III studies (KAINETIC; NCT07284901, NCT07284875) are recruiting participants from around the globe, including in the following UK locations: Manchester; Truro, Cornwall; Hull; London; Leicester; Nottingham; Yate, Gloucestershire; and Bradford.
Investigators will assess the efficacy of up to 10mg doses of the once-weekly injection in patients with or without diabetes, compared with those receiving a placebo, over a period of around 18 months. The trials are expected to enrol 1,156 and 2,340 people, respectively.
The drug is also being compared to semaglutide in trial sites across the UK, Poland, Bulgaria, Australia and the United States (NCT07284979). This trial has an expected enrolment of 1,200 people.
Another study taking place in Shanghai, China (NCT07709910) will explore whether ribupatide can improve knee joint structure in adults with obesity and knee osteoarthritis.
An earlier randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial, conducted in China with results published in June 2025, found that patients taking 8mg ribupatide weekly for 36 weeks could achieve 23.6% weight loss from baseline, compared with 1.7% for placebo.
Biotechnology company Kailera noted that no weight-loss plateau was observed in the phase II trial, which indicates that further weight loss may be possible with longer treatment duration. The safety and tolerability profile of ribupatide was consistent with the GLP-1-based class of approved therapies, it added.
In a press release published on 30 July 2026, Dinesh Saralaya, director of the National Institute for Health Research Bradford and West Yorkshire Commercial Research Delivery Centre, based at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is recruiting patients to the KAINETIC-1 trial, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for people across Bradford to take part in a major international clinical trial. Research studies like this can provide access to innovative treatments before they become widely available.”
He also invited those who were interested to get in touch, adding that “we are committed to ensuring our communities have the opportunity to contribute to research that could shape future healthcare”.
Amira Guirguis, chief scientist at the Royal College of Pharmacy, commented: “[The study] highlights why involving both patients and pharmacy in research is so important.
“By giving people living with obesity the opportunity to participate in clinical trials, researchers can better understand not only the effectiveness of new treatments but also how well they meet the needs of those who may ultimately use them.
“Pharmacy professionals have an important role to play throughout medicines research. Their expertise in medicines and patient safety supports the safe set-up and delivery of clinical trials, including the oversight and management of investigational medicines. They can also provide valuable insight into how medicines are used in practice.
“Patient participation is equally important. Meaningful patient and public involvement can bring lived experience into the design, delivery and communication of studies, helping to ensure research addresses the outcomes that matter most to patients. Bringing together patients, researchers and pharmacy professionals can help produce evidence that is more relevant to patients and more readily translated into better care,” she added.
