Free 24-hour delivery over £60 · Same-day despatchOrder before 2pm - same-day despatch · Free 24-hour delivery over £60
Research use only
All lyophilised (powdered) products and any related items sold by Kovalabs are strictly for scientific research purposes. No dosing guidelines are supplied with any product. We comply with all local regulations governing research-only sales within the United Kingdom. We are not a pharmacy and do not endorse, offer, or provide advice for human or animal consumption. International customers are responsible for checking their own local laws and regulations before purchasing.
You must be 18 or over and purchasing for scientific research only.
By clicking ‘I agree’ you confirm you have read and accepted the terms set out in this disclaimer.
Research use only
· 7 min read
The comparison gets made constantly, and the honest one-line answer is a counting problem: retatrutide engages three receptors, tirzepatide engages two. Retatrutide (developer code LY3437943) is a triple GIP / GLP-1 / glucagon receptor agonist; tirzepatide is a dual GIP / GLP-1 receptor agonist. That single difference - the added glucagon receptor - is the whole molecular story, and everything else flows from it. The two are related but distinct molecules. One important framing before anything else: tirzepatide is an approved medicine and retatrutide is a research compound; this page compares them at the molecular and receptor level only. Kovalabs supplies retatrutide strictly as a research reagent, and nothing here is a recommendation, a substitute claim, or any statement about human use, benefit or outcome.
| Property | Retatrutide | Tirzepatide |
|---|---|---|
| Receptor agonism | Triple: GIP + GLP-1 + glucagon | Dual: GIP + GLP-1 |
| The distinguishing receptor | Adds the glucagon receptor | No glucagon-receptor component |
| Developer code | LY3437943 | LY3298176 |
| Regulatory status | Research / investigational compound | Approved medicine (in licensed markets) |
| Brand names | None (no approved brand) | Mounjaro, Zepbound |
Both are single-chain peptide agonists in the incretin family, and both come from the same developer's programme - which is why they look like siblings on paper. The glucagon-receptor arm is the line between them: it is present in retatrutide and absent in tirzepatide. The receptor-pharmacology basis is set out in the phase 1b report (Urva et al., Lancet 2022; PMID 36354040), which describes LY3437943 as a novel triple GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptor agonist. This is a receptor-count and molecular-lineage distinction, not a comparison of effects.
Most of the naming confusion around this comparison is brand-name confusion, so it is worth clearing up plainly. Mounjaro and Zepbound are brand names for tirzepatide- the same dual-agonist molecule under different market labels. So "retatrutide vs Mounjaro" is the same question as "retatrutide vs tirzepatide": it is the triple agonist versus the dual agonist. Retatrutide has no approved brand name; it is referred to by its compound name or its developer code LY3437943. Semaglutide (the molecule behind other well-known brands) is a different class again - a single GLP-1 receptor agonist - and is not the subject of this comparison.
The identifiers below were cross-checked against PubChem. Full chemistry and the trial programme for retatrutide are in the dedicated retatrutide research reference.
| Identifier | Retatrutide | Tirzepatide |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C221H342N46O68 | C225H348N48O68 |
| Molecular weight | 4731 g/mol | 4813 g/mol |
| CAS number | 2381089-83-2 | 2023788-19-2 |
| PubChem CID | 171390338 | 166567236 |
| Receptor class | Triple incretin/glucagon agonist | Dual incretin agonist |
This is the part no molecular table captures, and it is the most important line on the page. Tirzepatide is an approved medicine, prescribed and regulated as such in licensed markets. Retatrutide is a research compound: it is supplied by Kovalabs for laboratory research use only and is not a medicine, not approved by the MHRA or any comparable regulator, and not for human or veterinary use. The two are not interchangeable, and research retatrutide is in no sense a generic, alternative, substitute or equivalent for an approved tirzepatide product. There is also no head-to-head clinical trial directly comparing the two as a research-versus-medicine question; their separate trial programmes are not a comparison. Treat the molecular distinction above as chemistry, not as any guidance about choosing, using or substituting either one.
Retatrutide has been studied in a registered clinical-trial programme, described here by study design and endpoint name only - no result is reproduced. Urva et al. (Lancet, 2022; PMID 36354040) was a phase 1b, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in a type 2 diabetes study population; Jastreboff et al. (N Engl J Med, 2023; PMID 37366315) and Rosenstock et al. (Lancet, 2023; PMID 37385280) were randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trials. These are named as study designs only; the full design-and-endpoint treatment with the neutralising guards is in the retatrutide research reference. Listed as research context, not as findings a reader should expect.
Kovalabs supplies retatrutide strictly as a research chemical for laboratory research use only. It is not a medicine, supplement or veterinary product, is not for human or veterinary use, and nothing on this page constitutes a medicinal, therapeutic, efficacy, dosing or human-outcome claim, nor any suggestion that it is an alternative or substitute for any approved medicine. It has not been evaluated by the MHRA or any comparable regulator for safety or efficacy in humans or animals outside its clinical-trial setting. Every batch is third-party tested with a certificate of analysis. Full terms are on the research disclaimer page.
Receptor count. Retatrutide (LY3437943) is a triple GIP / GLP-1 / glucagon receptor agonist; tirzepatide is a dual GIP / GLP-1 receptor agonist. The difference is the glucagon-receptor arm, which retatrutide has and tirzepatide does not. They are related but distinct molecules, and one (tirzepatide) is an approved medicine while the other (retatrutide) is a research compound. This is a molecular distinction, not a comparison of effects.
Yes. Mounjaro and Zepbound are brand names for tirzepatide, the dual GIP / GLP-1 agonist. So "retatrutide vs Mounjaro" is the same question as "retatrutide vs tirzepatide" - the triple agonist versus the dual agonist. Retatrutide has no approved brand name.
No. Retatrutide is supplied as a research chemical for laboratory use only and is not a medicine, not approved by any regulator, and not for human or veterinary use. It is not a generic, alternative, substitute or equivalent for any approved tirzepatide product. The comparison on this page is molecular and receptor-level only.
Retatrutide: C221H342N46O68, 4731 g/mol, CAS 2381089-83-2, PubChem CID 171390338. Tirzepatide: C225H348N48O68, 4813 g/mol, CAS 2023788-19-2, PubChem CID 166567236.
No. It is supplied as a research chemical for laboratory use only, is not approved as a medicine by the MHRA or any comparable regulator, and is not for human or veterinary use. Nothing on this page is a medicinal, therapeutic or efficacy claim. See the research disclaimer for full terms.
The publication titles below are the original authors' own titles, reproduced so each citation can be verified against PubMed and the cited DOI. They are not statements, conclusions or claims by Kovalabs, and the body of this page describes each study by its design and endpoint name only.