CBL-514: what the research shows

What CBL-514 is

CBL-514 is an investigational compound developed by Caliway Biopharmaceuticals in Taiwan. The trial reports describe it as a small molecule, not a peptide, that acts on fat tissue where it is given and makes fat cells undergo apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death. [1] [2] [3]

In the developer's nonclinical studies, summarised in the first trial report, CBL-514 inhibited DYRK1B, a kinase that helps cells survive, raised the apoptosis mediators caspase 3 and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and caused fat-cell death in cell and animal models. The published papers do not give its chemical structure. [1]

How it has been studied

Since 2018 the developer has registered more than a dozen trials on ClinicalTrials.gov: a first study in healthy volunteers, several phase 2 studies on abdominal fat under the skin, and smaller phase 2 studies in cellulite and in Dercum's disease, a condition with painful fatty lumps. [8] [5] [4]

The phase 2 and 2b trials in the table were randomised and placebo-controlled, and all were funded by the developer, whose employees are among the authors. Fat was measured with ultrasound or MRI and with rating scales scored by clinicians and by participants. [2] [3]

What the trials measured

In the 2025 phase 2 trial, 69.6% of participants given CBL-514 had lost at least 150 millilitres of abdominal fat volume eight weeks after their last treatment, against none of those given placebo, and 60.9% passed 200 millilitres. [2]

In the 2026 phase 2b trial, 76.7% of participants given CBL-514 improved by at least one grade on a clinician-rated abdominal fat scale at the 12-week follow-up, against 18.9% on placebo, and MRI showed an average fall in abdominal fat volume of about 20% from baseline. Most of those who improved did so after one or two treatments. [3]

Safety findings reported so far

In both placebo-controlled trials the most common adverse events were reactions at the treatment site, mostly mild to moderate and short-lived. The phase 2b report notes that no tissue necrosis or nerve injury was observed in the earlier phase 2 studies. [2] [3]

The trials so far have been small and short, and they were run by the developer: rarer or long-term effects are not known yet. [2] [3]

Regulatory status (November 2026)

CBL-514 is not an approved medicine in any country. Two phase 3 trials are registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: one began recruiting in September 2026, and SUPREME-02, planned for 320 participants, was not yet recruiting at the start of November 2026. [6] [7]

For comparison, the only fat-dissolving agent approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for this kind of treatment is deoxycholic acid, and only for fat under the chin; its use elsewhere on the body is still being studied. [9]

How to check a batch

Because the chemical structure of CBL-514 has not been published, a laboratory cannot compare a batch with a public reference: a certificate of analysis can report purity, but identity can only be stated against the supplier's own reference material. Before using material sold as CBL-514 in research, ask the supplier what the vial contains and how its identity was confirmed. [1] [3]