EXEN

Exenatide

A synthetic 39-amino-acid peptide with the sequence of exendin-4, identified in the venom of the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum. It shares roughly half its sequence with human GLP-1 and binds the same receptor. Its glycine at position 2 is what makes it resistant to dipeptidyl peptidase-4, the enzyme that cleaves native GLP-1 within minutes.

Exenatide has 279 registered human studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, reaching phase 4, covering 53,764 planned or enrolled participants across the 262 studies that published a figure. An FDA-approved product contains ExenatideBYETTA (NDA021919). 1,434 papers naming it were published in the last ten years.

Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Counts include only trials whose registered intervention names Exenatide; the registry search is fuzzy, so every match is re-checked. None of this says whether Exenatide works or is safe.

FDA status

Approved

Human studies

279

Furthest phase

Phase 4

Papers, 10 yr

1,434

Readership

3,088

monthly average, Feb–Jul 2026

Tracking since 2026-07-29 · About this data

What has actually been tested in humans

A

An approved product exists

279

Registered human studies

Phase 4

Furthest phase reached

53,764

Planned or enrolled participants, across 262 studies that published a figure

Approved

FDA-approved product — BYETTA

377 loose registry matches were checked and 279 confirmed — 98 named something else and were discarded. We count a study only when Exenatide is named as an intervention in it.

Registered means registered — not that the study finished, and not that it found anything. The grade is mechanical: it is computed from the registry and the FDA record alone, and it grades how much is known, never whether a compound is good or safe. Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Check the query.

What Exenatide is, and what it has been studied for

Exenatide is classified by ChEMBL as a protein, and appears in trial registrations under AC-002993 and AC002993. Its FDA substance identifier is 9P1872D4OL.

Across 279 registered trials, it has been studied in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity. A condition here is what a sponsor registered the trial under — it records what was investigated, not what was shown.

The trials were run by AstraZeneca and Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc among others. A named commercial sponsor means a compound is in formal development; its absence does not mean the opposite, only that no company has registered a trial under its own name.

How far it got

Exenatide reached Phase 4 across 279 registered trials.Phase 1First given to peoplePhase 2Looking for an effectPhase 3Tested at scalePhase 4Studied after approval

Exenatide reached Phase 4 across 279 registered trials.

An FDA-approved product contains Exenatide. Approval covers a specific product for a specific use — it is not a verdict on the molecule.

Is anyone studying Exenatide?

Papers published each year that name Exenatide in the title or abstract, with the clinical trials that started in the same year marked beneath. Ten calendar years.

05010015020017181920212223242526trials
Vertical axis: papers published that year. Bar for 2026 is hatched because that year is still running.
Publications and trials naming Exenatide, by year
YearPublicationsTrials startedComplete year
201718715Yes
20181685Yes
20191795Yes
20201535Yes
20211587Yes
20221192Yes
20231302Yes
20241434Yes
20251950Yes
20261641No

1,434 papers and 46 registered trials between 2017 and 2026. A paper counts when “Exenatide” appears in its title or abstract — phrase-matched, so a paper mentioning the words separately is not counted. The total is a single query over the whole window, which is why it does not equal the bars added together: PubMed files a paper under both its electronic and its print publication date, so one paper can appear in two years. Publication volume measures scientific attention, not whether a compound works: a well-studied compound can be well-studied and ineffective. Sources: PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov · collected 2026-08-02.

Published research on Exenatide

1,434 indexed papers name Exenatide in their title or abstract. These are the 8 PubMed ranks most relevant. Listing a paper is not a judgement about it, and none of these is summarised here — follow the link and read what it says.

  1. Efficacy and Safety of Once-Weekly Semaglutide Versus Exenatide ER in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes (SUSTAIN 3): A 56-Week, Open-Label, Randomized Clinical Trial

    Ahmann AJ, Capehorn M, Charpentier G, et al.Diabetes care2018

    PMID 2924695010.2337/dc17-0417

  2. Exenatide

    Bray GMAmerican journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists2006

    PMID 1648451510.2146/ajhp050459

  3. Exenatide

    Barnett AHDrugs of today (Barcelona, Spain : 1998)2005

    PMID 1634128810.1358/dot.2005.41.9.893704

  4. Exenatide

    Barnett AExpert opinion on pharmacotherapy2007

    PMID 1793109310.1517/14656566.8.15.2593

  5. Exenatide

    Bridges A, Bistas KG, Jacobs TF2026

    PMID 30085523

  6. Exenatide

    2012

    PMID 31643976

  7. Exenatide. Amylin/Eli Lilly

    Giannoukakis NCurrent opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000)2003

    PMID 12808888

  8. Exenatide

    Keating GMDrugs2005

    PMID 1606070310.2165/00003495-200565120-00008

Collected 2026-08-02from PubMed, phrase-matched on “Exenatide” in title and abstract. Run the same search.

About Exenatide

A synthetic 39-amino-acid peptide with the sequence of exendin-4, identified in the venom of the Gila monster, Heloderma suspectum. It shares roughly half its sequence with human GLP-1 and binds the same receptor. Its glycine at position 2 is what makes it resistant to dipeptidyl peptidase-4, the enzyme that cleaves native GLP-1 within minutes.

Also known as
AC2993

Structure and mechanism only. Nothing above describes what this compound is for, and no dose appears anywhere on this page.

Reading on this compound

All articles

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