Day One

• Harnessing the SCAP/Insig1 pathway to downregulate SREBP-mediated lipogenesis, providing a direct physiological brake on fat accumulation that remains effective even after the intensive weight-loss phase of GLP-1 therapy is complete
• Utilizing miR-146a upregulation to mitigate hypothalamic senescence and systemic inflammation, restoring metabolic “resilience” and protecting against the weight-gain “rebound” triggered by standard hormonal therapies
• Implementing a low-dose, small molecule regimen that achieves a 55% reduction in visceral fat accumulation, offering an orally-deliverable maintenance solution that secures long-term cardiometabolic health and provides a clear value proposition for global payers

Summarizing almost two decades worth of research developing and validating standardized MRI muscle biomarkers for use in research from academia and large-scale population studies, to multi-site clinical trials globally and all the way into the clinic:

• Establishing technical performance, from standardized acquisition protocols to image calibration, automatic segmentation, manual quality control, and robust measurement algorithms
• Making MRI muscle composition interpretable by publishing normative data, describing natural progression, and associations with physical function and mortality
• Providing published reference data showing change in MRI muscle composition across weight management therapies for contextualization of study results: liraglutide, tirzepatide, semaglutide, as well as gastric bypass & sleeve surgery

• Introduction to the Modular Next Gen Hyper15™ Delivery Platform, the first technology capable of bypassing the endosome to successfully deliver dual siRNA payloads directly to adipose tissue. This breakthrough enables precise genetic silencing within the fat cell itself, treating the tissue as a metabolic organ rather than just a storage depot.

Differentiating CCT-217 from standard-of-care incretins by moving “Beyond Appetite.” We present data showing how silencing adipose-specific genes at their mitochondrial receptors unlocks thermogenic energy expenditure and lipolysis, driving weight loss through metabolic upregulation rather than caloric restriction/starvation physiology.

A deep dive into the compositional and commercial advantage of CCT-217. We demonstrate how CCT-217 delivers Selective Fat Mass reduction and Muscle Enhancement—avoiding the sarcopenic trap of GLP-1s—while offering an Ultra-Long Duration dosing profile (6+ months) that redefines treatment adherence

Put a face to a name – this session is the perfect opportunity to get face-to-face time with key opinion leaders, leading companies, and innovative researchers in obesity and weight loss drug development. Establish meaningful connections to build upon for the rest of the conference and gain individual insight beyond the papers and press releases into the pioneering research and therapeutic development.  

• Comparing semaglutide and bimagrumab, alone or in combination, during 72 weeks treatment and 32 weeks withdrawal to understand actual changes in fat and lean mass by serial DXA measurements
• Quantifying differential effects on visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, and skeletal muscle of incretins and activin pathway inhibitors • Implications for durable vs pharmacologic effects on adipose, muscle, and other tissues and the long-term cardio-metabolic consequences
• Incorporating follow-on studies to track the durability of benefits associated with various weight loss mechanisms and treatment strategies.

• Assessing Body composition: different measurement methodologies (DXA, CT, MRI) assess body composition differently and will meet different needs in clinical trials
• Muscle volumes, fat, & function: individually segmenting muscles enables us to measure different types of muscle fat, monitor changes reliably over time, and integrate imaging with different muscle function assessments
• Health effects beyond body composition: weight loss can have direct and indirect benefits in a number of end organs (e.g. liver, kidney) and downstream conditions (e.g. HFpEF), which can be captured in clinical trials with shorter durations and smaller patient populations using imaging

• Leveraging the xRNA™ to overcome the stability limitations of conventional mRNA, achieving an ~100-fold improvement in Area Under the Curve (AUC) through highthroughput combinatorial screening
• Demonstrating robust pharmacokinetic durability with NHP half-life Weekly xRNAencoded GLP-1 agonist (xGLP1) administration outperformed gold standard protocols of daily-dosed FDA-approved therapeutics in diet-induced obesity mice, producing substantial weight loss and improved fasting glucose
• Moreover, single-dose administration of xGLP-1 maintained significant HbA1c reduction and functional peptide levels for three weeks in genetic diabetes (db/ db mice) xRNA thus potentially, enables transformation from transient peptide administration to monthly or quarterly therapeutic regimens, utilizing a safe, titratable modality compatible with at-home patient-self-administration of intramuscular delivery

• Delivering a brief yet comprehensive overview of diet-induced obesity (DIO) models and experiments used in drug efficacy studies
• Discussing the pros and cons of DIO mouse, rat and hamster models used in the evaluation of obesity-targeting drugs
• Providing reference and new data on GLP-1 and amylin therapies in these models

• MyoScreen™: a translationally relevant in vitro human muscle platform for discovering and profiling muscle-preserving candidates
• Benchmarking against bimagrumab across multiple muscle atrophy models
• Comprehensive profiling of muscle-preserving activities: contractility, glucose uptake, mitochondrial health, lipid handling, calcium flux and AChR clustering

• Evaluating the lung as a systemic delivery route for GLP-1 receptor agonists, enabling rapid absorption while bypassing gastrointestinal degradation pathways
• Comparing inhalation platforms including dry powder inhalers (DPI) and soft mist inhalers (SMI) for peptide delivery, with focus on formulation constraints, dose loading, and dispersion performance
• Reviewing publicly available pharmacokinetic insights and challenges in achieving clinically relevant systemic exposure via pulmonary delivery
• Discussing manufacturing and scalability considerations for inhaled peptide products, including opportunities to reduce reliance on cold-chain logistics and injection-based delivery systems

• Why traditional recruitment models often underperform in obesity trials—and what high-performing sites are doing differently
• The power of embedded patient ecosystems, leveraging longitudinal care relationships to drive enrollment and sustained participation
• Retention as a true commercial advantage: how consistency, trust, and experienced site operations translate into faster timelines and stronger data.
• How leading sites ensure high-quality clinical data in weight management trials, where patient complexity and continuity are critical to success

Showcase your groundbreaking research and connect with peers in a vibrant, collaborative environment. Presenting at the poster session is your chance to gain visibility and engage directly with leading experts and innovators in the obesity drug development field. This is a unique opportunity to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. Share your latest findings, gain valuable feedback, and explore potential collaborations that will shape the next generation of obesity and weight loss drugs.

To submit a poster, please fill out this form.

• We must bring trials to the patient rather than the patient to the trials.
• We must democratize access to the trials.

• Adding oral selective androgen receptor modulators to standard incretin regimens to protect lean skeletal muscle mass during rapid weight loss, preventing the increased fall risk and frailty often seen in elderly patients on GLP-1s
• Utilizing advanced DEXA-based body composition analysis to prioritize “quality of weight loss” over simple BMI reduction, ensuring that weight loss translates into improved physical function and independence for the over-65 population
• Optimizing dual-therapy titration protocols to balance the appetite-suppressing effects of GLP-1s with the anabolic support of SARMs, delivering a comprehensive solution for geriatric obesity that satisfies both clinical and quality-of-life endpoints

• Standardizing tissue-specific permeability and “molecular-reach” as a core regulatory endpoint to move beyond systemic bioavailability as the “gold standard” for pediatric and geriatric success, leading to a more nuanced and accurate reflection of metabolic health across all ages
• Evaluating the ethics and logistics of long-term “follow-on” studies to track the 10-year impact of incretins on muscle progenitor cell health and mitochondrial function, building the robust safety database required for universal pediatric approval
• Integrating objective metabolic-reserve metrics regarding “muscular-force” and “mitochondrial-efficiency” to capture the human impact of treatment, ensuring that drug development remains focused on functional longevity rather than just cosmetic weight loss