Most of us know the fat we can pinch is not the kind doctors worry about most.
The real trouble sits deeper, wrapped around the organs, where no amount of mirror-checking will show it.
A new experimental drug may offer a way to reach that fat directly. The injection, called CBL-514, cut visceral fat volume by nearly 12 percent after just four weeks in a small phase 2 trial. In the placebo group, the same fat kept creeping up.
The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting in Milan in early October 2026, Medical Xpress reported.
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It can target only fat cells
Standard weight-loss drugs act on appetite or metabolism. CBL-514 works in a different way.
It triggers apoptosis, the natural process in which cells break down and die, and is designed to set that off only in fat cells. The surrounding tissue is left alone, the research team said.
Participants in the two pooled phase 2 studies received up to 600 mg of the drug into the lower abdomen every three weeks, for up to 12 weeks.
The deep-fat analysis covered a subgroup of 40 adults aged roughly 36 to 42, with a body mass index between 22 and 30.
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Alongside the drop at week four, visceral fat was still about 10 percent lower at weeks 8 to 12, while placebo volunteers had added more of it, according to a release on Eurekalert.
The trials also tracked subcutaneous fat, the softer layer just beneath the skin.
Nearly 70 percent of those on CBL-514 lost at least 150 ml of that fat by week eight. None of the placebo volunteers reached the same threshold.
A second use after GLP-1 drugs
The researchers also see a role for the drug after people stop GLP-1 weight-loss medicines, where weight regain is common.
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In rat studies, animals given CBL-514 together with tirzepatide regained less weight when the GLP-1 drug was stopped than rats on tirzepatide alone. Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Dr. W. Timothy Garvey, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who led the analysis, called the approach novel.
"This is a highly innovative approach to obesity pharmacotherapy that has produced some remarkable results in early human trials," he said according to Eurekalert.
Where the trial stands now
The study was small, with 23 participants on CBL-514 and 17 on placebo in the pooled analysis. The safety signal looked clean.
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Beyond mild to moderate injection-site reactions such as pain, swelling and redness, no serious adverse events were reported.
Recruitment for the first of two planned phase 3 trials is now underway. Initial results are expected at the end of 2027.
The drug is not yet approved for use, and anyone with concerns about belly fat should talk to their doctor.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.