Sources last read
The page
GLP-1 microneedle patches and the peptide-through-skin record
FDA has approved no GLP-1 or peptide microneedle patch among the molecules in this tracker. The registry set contains 15 human trials across 6 molecules, going back to 2007. Two trials are testing semaglutide now; both started in 2026, and neither has posted results.
Source for this answer
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API 2.0.5, searched 2026-08-12
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API 2.0.5, searched 2026-08-12
What matters first
- FDA-approved peptide patches
- 0
- Human trials found
- 15
- Molecules studied
- 6
- Semaglutide patch results posted
- 0
Researchers are testing whether microneedles can deliver GLP-1 drugs through skin. Those trials are separate from the products sold online. The main patch record compares those listings with the evidence. This page follows human trials, including earlier studies of other peptides. Results for another drug do not prove that a semaglutide patch works.
A microneedle array is not a sticker
A microneedle array uses many short needles to make small openings in the outer skin layer. This helps a drug cross that barrier. An adhesive sticker relies on the drug passing through intact skin instead. Needle length and design vary; the term does not mean a patch is painless.
Large molecules have difficulty crossing intact skin. Microneedles make openings in that barrier, but delivery still depends on the drug, formulation and device. Molecular weight alone cannot predict how much drug reaches the blood or whether treatment works.
Every molecule that has tried, lightest first
Each row is a molecule with at least one registered human trial of delivery through skin. The weights come from PubChem. The trial counts, phases and results come from the registry, and a script re-reads them rather than a person retyping them.
| Molecule | Weight | Trials | Furthest phase | Results posted | Approved skin product today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zolmitriptan | 287.36 g/mol | 2 | Phase 3 | Yes | None |
| Glucagon | 3,482.7 g/mol | 2 | Phase 2 | No | None |
| Abaloparatide | 3,961 g/mol | 3 | Phase 3 | Yes | None |
| Semaglutide | 4,113.58 g/mol | 2 | Phase 1 | No | None |
| Teriparatide | 4,118 g/mol | 6 | Phase 2 | Yes | None |
| Tirzepatide | 4,813.53 g/mol | 0 | — | No | None |
None of these molecules has an approved product that goes through skin. That is what Drugs@FDA shows, not a verdict on why. A program can end because the numbers disappointed, because the money ran out, or because the company was sold, and the public record does not say which.
4Read the complete human trial record
The nearest thing to a semaglutide patch already happened
Teriparatide weighs 4,118 g/mol. Semaglutide weighs 4,113.58. The gap between them is about 4 g/mol. That makes teriparatide a useful example of a similarly heavy peptide, but it does not predict semaglutide absorption. Eli Lilly compared a teriparatide skin patch with an injection of teriparatide.
| Study arm, as registered | percentage change in BMD |
|---|---|
| 20 Mcg Subcutaneous Teriparatide | 7.8 |
| 30 Mcg Transdermal Teriparatide | 0.63 |
| 50 Mcg Transdermal Teriparatide | 0.32 |
| 80 Mcg Transdermal Teriparatide | 1.63 |
The reported change was smaller in each patch group than in the injection group. The outcome, units and follow-up period are given with the table. These are treatment outcomes, not measurements of drug absorption. Read the full study record at NCT01011556.
The latest-stage peptide patch in this tracker
Abaloparatide weighs 3,961 g/mol, a little under semaglutide. Radius Health built it into a microstructured patch and ran a 511-person phase 3 against the injection. That is a real, finished, late-stage trial of a peptide patch, and it posted numbers.
| Study arm, as registered | percent change |
|---|---|
| Abaloparatide-SC | 10.86 |
| Abaloparatide-sMTS | 7.14 |
The posted change in bone mineral density was smaller in the patch group than in the injection group. These values do not measure how much drug crossed the skin. The FDA records checked for this guide list abaloparatide as an injection, not a patch.
The two GLP-1 trials running now
Both started in 2026. These phase 1 studies enroll healthy volunteers and examine safety and drug absorption rather than long-term weight loss. Neither had posted registry results when checked on 2026-08-12. Open a registry link for its current status.
| Registry ID | Sponsor | Phase and status | Started | Participants | Main measurement due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07673900 | Terrestrial Bio, Inc. | Phase 1 | 2026-06-15 | 62 | 2027-02-10 |
| NCT07539415 | Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. LTD. | Phase 1 | 2026-05-06 | 72 | 2026-10-27 |
One detail is worth knowing, because it shows how easily this page gets missed. Daewoong filed its trial under the code names DWRX5003 and DWC202502. The word semaglutide appears nowhere in the title.
It shows up in one place only: a short description of the product, reading “Microneedle patch containing Semaglutide”. So a search that reads titles alone finds one GLP-1 patch trial in the world. There are two.
There are still no results posted to ClinicalTrials.gov for either record. In a company announcement, Daewoong said a separate 70-person human pilot measured how much drug reached the blood. The announcement says semaglutide reached the bloodstream; it is not a posted result for either registry record and does not show weight-loss efficacy. Read the sponsor announcement.
The full list
All 15 trials, so nothing above rests on a selection you cannot check.
| Registry ID | Title | Sponsor | Phase | Status | Started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT00489918 | Dose Ranging Study - Macroflux Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis | Zosano Pharma Corporation | Phase 2 | Completed | 2007-06 |
| NCT00535860 | Efficacy & Safety of ViaDerm-hPTH(1-34) Compared to Forteo SC in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis | TransPharma Medical | Phase 2 | Completed | 2008-04 |
| NCT01011556 | A Study for the Transdermal Application of Teriparatide | Eli Lilly and Company | Phase 2 | Completed | 2009-11 |
| NCT01250145 | A Multiple-Dose Study to Evaluate Skin Irritation and Sensitization of Teriparatide Administered Transdermally in Healthy Postmenopausal Women | Eli Lilly and Company | Phase 1 | Completed | 2010-11 |
| NCT01551602 | Clinical Study of AK159 in Healthy Postmenopausal Women | Asahi Kasei Therapeutics Corporation | Phase 1 | Completed | 2012-03 |
| NCT01674621 | Phase 2 Study of BA058 (Abaloparatide) Transdermal Delivery in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis | Radius Health, Inc. | Phase 2 | Completed | 2012-09-25 |
| NCT01684956 | Pharmacokinetic Comparison of Intradermal Versus Sub-cutaneous Insulin and Glucagon Delivery in Type 1 Diabetes | Massachusetts General Hospital | Phase 2 | Status not confirmed recently | 2012-08 |
| NCT01935479 | A Phase I Study of AK159 in Healthy Postmenopausal Women | Asahi Kasei Therapeutics Corporation | Phase 1 | Completed | 2013-08 |
| NCT02459938 | Safety and Efficacy of ZP-Glucagon to Injectable Glucagon for Hypoglycemia | Zosano Pharma Corporation | Phase 1 | Completed | 2015-01 |
| NCT02745392 | Safety and Efficacy of ZP-Zolmitriptan Intracutaneous Microneedle Systems for the Acute Treatment of Migraine | Zosano Pharma Corporation | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Completed | 2016-06 |
| NCT04064411 | Efficacy & Safety of Abaloparatide-Solid Microstructured Transdermal System in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis | Radius Health, Inc. | Phase 3 | Completed | 2019-08-05 |
| NCT04066023 | Double-Blind Comparison of the Efficacy and Safety of C213 to Placebo for the Acute Treatment of Cluster Headaches | Zosano Pharma Corporation | Phase 2, Phase 3 | Completed | 2019-10-03 |
| NCT04366726 | Study to Evaluate the Pharmacokinetics (PK), Pharmacodynamics (PD), and Usability of Abaloparatide-solid Microstructured Transdermal System (sMTS) in Postmenopausal Women With Low Bone Mineral Density (BMD) | Radius Health, Inc. | Phase 1 | Completed | 2019-04-09 |
| NCT07539415 | A Phase 1 Clinical Trial to Assess the Safety of DWRX5003 and Relative Bioavailability to DWC202502 and DWC202503 in Healthy Adult Volunteers | Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. LTD. | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 2026-05-06 |
| NCT07673900 | Semaglutide Delivered Epi-Intradermally by Microarray Patch (VX-201) Versus Subcutaneous Administration in Healthy Overweight and Obese Participants | Terrestrial Bio, Inc. | Phase 1 | Recruiting | 2026-06-15 |
Take the page
One row per molecule, including tirzepatide, which has no registered trial of delivery through skin at all. That zero is a row because it is the answer, and a file listing only the trials that exist could not carry it.
Both files hold the weights, the trial counts, the furthest phase, whether results were posted, and the registry IDs behind every count.
How to cite this table
Analysis by HealthspanLedger · edition 2026.08 · version bcb8762b13b6 · retrieved 2026-08-12
The underlying records are us government work, public domain and carry no copyright: the publisher’s own license. This table — how we select, join, label and bound the facts — is ours, and it is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Reuse it, including commercially, and credit HealthspanLedger with a link to this page.
What remains unknown
Questions people actually ask
Is a GLP-1 microneedle patch approved?
When could a GLP-1 patch be available?
If abaloparatide got to phase 3, why is there no patch?
Do microneedles hurt?
Is a microneedle patch what I would buy online?
Keep reading
- GLP-1 patches and the transdermal delivery record — what is actually sold and what FDA has authorized.
- The semaglutide evidence guide — approval status and sourced values for the molecule.
- The clinical-trial pipeline — the same registry, read for every compound on this site.
Sources
How we checked these details
Reviewed 2026-08-12
Trial details come from a dated ClinicalTrials.gov search. The registry links let you check the current phase, enrollment and posted results. Registry records may have changed since the search. The wider rules are in the sourcing methodology. If a trial here has reported since we last looked, tell us at contact@healthspanledger.com.