BRP (BRINP2-Related Peptide)
A 12-amino-acid peptide discovered at Stanford through AI-driven prohormone screening, BRP curbs appetite through a non-incretin brain pathway and, in animals, matched GLP-1-scale food-intake reduction without nausea.
Investigational compounds, read carefully
This section covers peptides at the frontier of research. Most entries are preclinical, in early or mid-stage clinical trials, or theoretical. Evidence levels are explicitly marked on every entry.
Nothing on these pages constitutes medical advice, dosing recommendations, or instructions for use. Many of these compounds are not commercially available; some are not legal for human use. Decisions about treatment require a qualified clinician.
At a glance
BRP is a 12-amino-acid peptide identified at Stanford through an AI method that predicts which fragments the body cleaves from larger prohormones. In lean mice and minipigs, a single pre-meal injection reduced food intake by up to 50% over the following hour, and it did so through a brain pathway distinct from GLP-1, without the nausea and aversion that limit incretin drugs. All of the evidence to date is preclinical; no human studies have been reported.
- Class
- Prohormone-derived peptide (12 aa, from BRINP2)
- Origin
- Svensson Lab, Stanford (Nature 2025)
- Developer
- Merrifield Therapeutics
- Stage
- Preclinical (mice, minipigs)
What it is
BRP (BRINP2-related peptide) is a 12-amino-acid peptide derived from the BRINP2 prohormone. It was discovered by Laetitia Coassolo and colleagues in the laboratory of Katrin Svensson at Stanford, using a computational model that predicts prohormone cleavage sites to surface previously uncharacterized bioactive peptides. Screening roughly 2,600 candidate human peptide fragments, the team flagged BRP as a potent suppressor of food intake and validated it in animal models. The work was published in Nature in 2025.
Current research status
BRP is at an early preclinical stage. The published evidence comes entirely from mice and minipigs; no human trials have been registered or reported as of mid-2026. Katrin Svensson has co-founded Merrifield Therapeutics to move the peptide toward clinical testing, but no investigational-new-drug filing or trial timeline has been announced. BRP is not approved, not commercially available, and not a treatment.
Mechanistic rationale
BRP acts on the central melanocortin system rather than the incretin system that GLP-1 drugs target. In animal work it activates pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the hypothalamus, signaling through the cAMP-PKA-CREB-FOS cascade that governs satiety. Because this route is separate from GLP-1 receptor signaling in the gut and brainstem, the animal data show appetite suppression without the nausea, vomiting, and food aversion that accompany incretin therapies. Whether the same clean separation holds in humans is unknown.
Available evidence
Why it's interesting
The appeal of BRP is its mechanism. GLP-1 and dual-agonist drugs are effective but limited for many people by gastrointestinal side effects that stem, in part, from how they act on the gut and brainstem. A peptide that suppresses appetite through the melanocortin/POMC route could, in principle, deliver comparable intake reduction with a different and possibly milder side-effect profile. The discovery method is notable in its own right: using cleavage prediction to mine the body's own prohormones for overlooked signaling peptides is a template that may surface further candidates.
Limitations & risks
The single most important limitation is that BRP has no human data at all. Obesity pharmacology has a long history of compounds that impressed in rodents and failed to translate, so striking animal numbers warrant caution rather than confidence. Human safety, immunogenicity, effective dose, and durability are all unknown. The peptide's short biological half-life may demand frequent dosing, and the long-term consequences of chronically driving POMC signaling have not been characterized. The popular 'natural Ozempic' framing runs well ahead of the evidence.
Community discussion notes
BRP spread quickly through health media and biohacker communities under the 'natural Ozempic' label after the 2025 Nature paper. That framing generally omits the central caveat, which is that no human has been studied. Products marketed as BRP may already circulate in grey-market channels; with no verified identity, purity, or human safety basis, and no approved therapeutic use, these carry the same risks as any unregulated research compound. The accurate status is a promising animal result, not an available treatment.
The takeaway
BRP is one of the more interesting obesity-research stories of 2025-2026: a novel, AI-discovered peptide that reduces appetite through a non-incretin brain pathway and produced GLP-1-scale food-intake reductions in animals without apparent nausea. It is also, as of now, entirely preclinical. Treat it as a hypothesis worth following rather than a therapy, and watch for the first registered human trial from Merrifield Therapeutics as the signal that the story is moving from mouse to clinic.
Frequently asked questions
What is BRP?
BRP (BRINP2-related peptide) is a 12-amino-acid peptide discovered at Stanford in 2025. It reduces appetite by acting on POMC neurons in the hypothalamus, a mechanism separate from the GLP-1 pathway used by drugs like semaglutide.
Has BRP been tested in humans?
No. Every published result is from mice and minipigs. No human trial has been registered or reported as of mid-2026, and BRP is not approved or available as a treatment.
How is BRP different from Ozempic?
Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that works largely through gut and brainstem incretin signaling, which also drives its nausea. BRP acts through the melanocortin/POMC system instead, and in animals it suppressed appetite without those aversive effects. Whether that difference holds in people is untested.
Who is developing BRP?
The peptide was discovered in Katrin Svensson's laboratory at Stanford (Coassolo et al., Nature 2025). Svensson co-founded Merrifield Therapeutics to pursue human trials, though no timeline has been announced.
Can I buy BRP?
There is no approved BRP product, and no human safety data exists to support use. Any BRP sold through research-chemical or grey-market channels has unverified identity and purity and carries the risks of any unapproved compound. This site does not endorse or facilitate sourcing.
References
- Coassolo L, et al. Prohormone cleavage prediction uncovers a non-incretin anti-obesity peptide. Nature. 2025. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08683-y. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08683-y
- Stanford Medicine. Researchers discover a molecule that rivals Ozempic for weight loss (BRP). 2025. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/ozempic-rival.html
- EurekAlert / Stanford Medicine. Naturally occurring molecule rivals Ozempic in weight loss, sidesteps side effects. 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1075949