An experimental injection called CBL-514 reduced visceral fat — the dangerous fat packed around internal organs — by 12.01% in early human trials, according to research led in part by a doctor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Dr. W. Timothy Garvey of UAB and Yu-Fang Ling of Caliway Biopharmaceuticals in New Taipei City, Taiwan, ran the trials testing whether the drug could shrink visceral fat deposits, the kind that wraps around organs deep inside the abdomen and drives insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes risk.
Visceral fat isn’t just a cosmetic problem. Research published in March by the American Heart Association found it had a stronger link to heart failure risk than body mass index does.
Earlier phase 2 trials had already shown CBL-514 could reduce subcutaneous fat, the layer sitting just under the skin. The newer data, drawn from MRI scans in two phase 2 trials, showed something more: visceral fat actually decreased in patients who got the drug, while it increased in patients given a placebo.
Patients received injections into the lower abdomen every three weeks for up to 12 weeks, with doses as high as 600 milligrams. The number of shots depended on how thick a patient’s abdominal fat layer was — as the fat shrank, the injections tapered off.
The drug works by triggering apoptosis, a process that causes cells to self-destruct, but it targets fat cells specifically and leaves surrounding tissue alone.
Four weeks after the last treatment, the CBL-514 group’s average fat volume was down 12.01%, while the placebo group’s was up 5.68%, according to SciTechDaily.
Garvey acknowledged patients are drawn to the cosmetic upside — a flatter stomach from losing subcutaneous fat. But he said the bigger story is what happens underneath: lower body weight, better blood pressure, improved cholesterol, and reduced visceral fat, all of which matter far more for long-term health than appearance.
That’s a distinction liposuction can’t offer. The surgical procedure removes subcutaneous fat but cannot touch visceral fat, meaning it does nothing to reduce the health risks tied to carrying too much of it.
