Stanford Medicine researchers, working with teams from UC Berkeley, the University of Minnesota, and the University of British Columbia, have identified a naturally occurring peptide called BRP (BRINP2-related-peptide) that suppresses appetite and drives weight loss much like Ozempic, but through a more targeted pathway.
Unlike semaglutide, which acts on receptors throughout the brain, gut, and pancreas, BRP appears to work specifically in the hypothalamus, the brain region that governs appetite and metabolism. In mice and minipigs, a single injection cut food intake by up to 50% within an hour. Obese mice lost roughly 3 grams over two weeks, nearly all of it fat, while a control group gained weight, and the animals showed improved glucose and insulin tolerance with no observed nausea, constipation, or significant muscle loss.
The discovery came from an AI tool the team built called "Peptide Predictor," which scanned 20,000 human genes to flag 373 candidate prohormones and predict 2,683 possible peptides from how enzymes cleave them. Senior author Dr. Katrin Svensson said BRP's narrower mechanism is what seems to spare patients the side effects common with current GLP-1 drugs. Human trials have not yet begun.