Survodutide shows favourable cardiovascular safety in Phase 3 SYNCHRONIZE-CVOT

What happened? On 9 November 2026, Boehringer Ingelheim presented positive results from SYNCHRONIZE-CVOT, the first and only global cardiovascular safety trial of survodutide, a glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist being developed with Zealand Pharma. The Phase 3 trial met its primary endpoint: survodutide did not increase the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke, coronary revascularisation or heart-failure events) versus placebo in adults with obesity or overweight plus established cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and/or at least two weight-related risk factors (HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.67–1.18; p<0.0001 for non-inferiority).

Additional benefits: The drug also produced significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and waist circumference at 72 weeks versus placebo. Results were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published simultaneously in The Lancet.

Why it matters: Cardiovascular safety is a key question for the new wave of obesity therapies. Survodutide is the first glucagon/GLP-1 dual agonist (a medicine that activates two metabolic signalling pathways) to show a favourable cardiovascular profile in a dedicated outcomes trial, and Boehringer Ingelheim has said it plans to file for regulatory approval in 2027.

Read more: Zealand Pharma, 9 November 2026