HANGZHOU, China, Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, the results of the pivotal Phase III clinical trial (EECOH-1) of ecnoglutide injection, developed by Sciwind Biosciences Co., Ltd. (“Sciwind”), for the monotherapy of type 2 diabetes (T2DM), have been published in Nature Communications. Conducted in adult T2DM patients with inadequate glycemic control after diet and exercise intervention, the results demonstrate that ecnoglutide injection — potentially the world’s first long-acting cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist — significantly lowers blood glucose while also showing comprehensive benefits including weight reduction and improvement of metabolic parameters.
The corresponding and first author of the publication is Professor Dalong Zhu from the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School. Mr. Shaohui Bing from Sciwind served as a co-corresponding author.
The EECOH-1 trial was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial conducted across 32 centers in China. It enrolled 211 adult T2DM patients with inadequate glycemic control after diet and exercise intervention. Participants were randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive once-weekly subcutaneous injections of ecnoglutide 0.6 mg, ecnoglutide 1.2 mg, or placebo for 24 weeks of double-blind treatment. After the double-blind period, participants in the ecnoglutide groups continued ecnoglutide treatment, while those in the placebo group crossed over to receive ecnoglutide for an additional 28 weeks — resulting in a total treatment duration of 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measured by a central laboratory at Week 24.
Using the treatment policy estimand, at Week 24, both the ecnoglutide 0.6 mg and 1.2 mg groups showed statistically significant and greater reductions in HbA1c compared to the placebo group, with a reduction of 2.43% in the 1.2 mg group. The proportions of patients achieving HbA1c targets of <7.0% and ≤6.5% were significantly higher in both ecnoglutide groups versus placebo. In the 1.2 mg group, the proportion achieving HbA1c <7.0% reached 80.3%. The results indicate that ecnoglutide effectively lowers HbA1c, increases the HbA1c target achievement rate in a dose-dependent manner, and maintains stable efficacy through 52 weeks.
Ecnoglutide also significantly reduced body weight. At Week 24, body weight decreased from baseline by 4.51% and 4.74% in the 0.6 mg and 1.2 mg groups, respectively. Furthermore, ecnoglutide treatment across dose groups improved cardiovascular metabolic risk indicators (including fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour postprandial plasma glucose, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body mass index) and enhanced pancreatic β-cell function — offering comprehensive metabolic benefits consistent.
Ecnoglutide demonstrated a favorable overall safety and tolerability profile. The most common adverse events were mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal reactions (e.g., nausea, diarrhea) and decreased appetite, which primarily occurred during the dose-escalation period and subsided shortly. The incidence of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events was low, and no severe hypoglycemic events, pancreatitis, or medullary thyroid cancer were reported.
Professor Dalong Zhu, leading principal investigator of the study from the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School
Professor Dalong Zhu, the leading principal investigator of the study, the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, stated, “Earlier, the results of the Phase II clinical trial of enobuglutide were published in Nature Communications. We are pleased to see the Phase III results of ecnoglutide monotherapy for type 2 diabetes published in Nature Communications. China has approximately 140 million adult T2DM patients — the largest such population in the world — and many face comorbidities like overweight or cardiovascular disease, creating an urgent need for effective treatments. The findings demonstrate that ecnoglutide not only significantly lowers blood glucose in T2DM patients but also offers comprehensive benefits including weight reduction and metabolic improvement. Leveraging its unique cAMP-biased mechanism, ecnoglutide achieved more pronounced HbA1c reductions and higher glycemic target achievement rates. Supported by high-quality evidence-based medical data, ecnoglutide will provide a valuable new treatment option for T2DM clinical management.”
Dr. Hai Pan, Founder and CEO of Sciwind Biosciences
Dr. Hai Pan, the Founder and CEO of Sciwind Biosciences, stated, “As potentially the world’s first approved cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist, results from Phase III SLIMMER trial (evaluating ecnoglutide for obesity) and Phase III EECOH-2 trial (evaluating ecnoglutide for T2DM inadequately controlled by metformin) were both published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The EECOH-1 trial’s recent publication in Nature Communications underscores Sciwind’s strength in innovative biomedical research while driving significant advancement.”
Investor and Media Resources
Full publication: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-68165-7
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05680155
About Ecnoglutide
Ecnoglutide injection, originally discovered and developed by Sciwind Biosciences, is potentially the world’s first approved cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist enhancing clinical efficacy and accessibility. Ecnoglutide injection has successfully completed three Phase III clinical trials, supporting Marketing Authorization Applications in China for treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes, as well as adults with obesity or overweight. From Phase I through Phase III, ecnoglutide injection has consistently demonstrated a favorable safety profile and strong efficacy, with the findings published in leading metabolic journals, underscoring its potential as a promising therapy for patients with metabolic diseases.
About Sciwind Biosciences
Sciwind Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company in the near-commercialization stage, dedicated to addressing the unmet medical needs in the field of weight management and metabolic diseases. Sciwind has established a robust pipeline anchored by the lead asset, ecnoglutide (XW003). It has developed multiple proprietary technology platforms, including biased agonist discovery platform, long-acting and oral peptide delivery platforms, and has identified a series of drug candidates based on these core technology platforms. Sciwind has built an extensive pipeline targeting GLP-1 and synergistic pathways, offering both injectable and oral treatment solutions to deliver sustainable and high-quality therapies for patients with metabolic diseases.
For more information, please visit www.sciwindbio.com.
