ATX-304 (formerly O304)

an investigational oral AMPK activator with one small randomized diabetes trial, a newer obesity pilot, and an animal pharmacokinetic curve that cannot establish a human dosing interval.

tier B · weight loss · 65 participants in the published 28-day randomized trial

verdict

the AMPK pharmacology and early human signal are real, but the clinical file is too small and short to establish durable weight loss or long-term safety.

the core tension

ATX-304 has one 65-person randomized human paper and one 23-person conference abstract. It still lacks a US approval, a long-term safety record, a published human terminal half-life, and a mature obesity-outcomes program.

what it is

ATX-304 is the current development name for O304, an oral small molecule that suppresses dephosphorylation of AMPK at Thr172. The 2018 program studied an O304 suspension. The later phase 1b registration names ATX-304 sodium salt tablets. A separately sold material must declare which form it contains rather than borrowing the study record by name.

what it does

By keeping AMPK in its activated phosphorylated state, O304 changed glucose handling, fatty-acid oxidation, lipolysis, and microvascular perfusion in preclinical work. The 28-day TELLUS trial reported a fasting-glucose signal, reduced systolic blood pressure, and improved microvascular perfusion in metformin-treated type 2 diabetes. Those are early metabolic and vascular findings, not proof of durable obesity treatment.

origin

O304 emerged from a Swedish AMPK drug-development program and entered human testing under the TELLUS study. The program later moved to Atrogi as ATX-304. The name change does not upgrade the evidence: the published clinical base remains one short randomized paper plus a small later conference report.

does it work

It produced measurable metabolic and vascular effects in a small, short randomized human trial. In a later 23-person abstract, ATX-304 increased adiponectin, reduced liver and visceral fat over time, and raised resting metabolic rate by up to 33% against baseline. The abstract does not report a between-group effect or a human weight-loss outcome. Weight-loss efficacy, long-term safety, and the current formulation's PK remain open.

key facts

• molecular formula: C16H11Cl2N3O2S (free parent)
• molecular weight: 380.2 g/mol (free parent)
• amino acids: n/a (small molecule, not a peptide)
• half-life: human terminal half-life not published; approximately 11 hours shown only as a low-confidence mouse apparent-decline proxy
• type: investigational small-molecule indirect AMPK activator
• 65 participants in the published 28-day randomized trial
• 28 d duration of the peer-reviewed human trial
• 0 published human terminal half-life measurements
• ~11 h mouse apparent-decline proxy, not human PK

frequently asked questions

Is ATX-304 the same as O304?

It is the renamed development program. Form still matters: TELLUS used an O304 suspension, while the later phase 1b registration specifies ATX-304 sodium salt tablets. Results from either named study do not authenticate a separately sold product.

related peptides

• SLU-PP-332: a different preclinical metabolic small molecule; its findings do not transfer to ATX-304
• BAM15: a different mitochondrial uncoupler; its animal findings do not transfer to ATX-304
• semaglutide: an approved obesity medicine; its label and outcomes do not apply to ATX-304

reptides grades the research record and cites the literature behind every call. research reference only; not medical advice.