Tirzepatide
Also known as Tirz and LY3298176. Lyophilized, vacuum-sealed, 10-vial kit.
- CAS
- 2023788-19-2
- Form
- Lyophilized powder
- Storage
- Frozen, in the dark
- Ships
- Kits by Dec 12, 2026
- Presale
- Ships within the US
- Pay by card or crypto
- All sales final
Tirzepatide is a synthetic 39-residue peptide carrying a C20 fatty diacid side chain, designed at Eli Lilly as a single molecule that activates both the GIP receptor and the GLP-1 receptor. It was first described in 2018 under the code LY3298176, and is often shortened to Tirz. It is the active ingredient of the FDA-approved products Mounjaro (2022) and Zepbound (2023).
Supplied for laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use, and not for diagnostic or therapeutic application.
Tirzepatide: compound data
- Molecular formula
- C225H348N48O68
- Molecular weight
- 4,813 g/mol
- CAS number
- 2023788-19-2
- PubChem
- CID 166567236
- Form supplied
- Lyophilized powder, vacuum-sealed
- Concentration
- mg/mL and molarity calculator
Reference values from PubChem, the chemistry database of the US National Library of Medicine, for the compound as registered there.
About Tirzepatide
Structure of Tirzepatide
Tirzepatide is a linear peptide of 39 amino acids with an amidated C-terminus. The FDA label describes it as based on the GIP sequence, with the non-coded amino acid aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) at positions 2 and 13 and a lysine at position 20 that is attached through a linker to 1,20-eicosanedioic acid, a twenty-carbon fatty diacid. The systematic name in PubChem shows the chain starting Tyr-Aib-Glu-Gly-Thr and ending in a serine amide after a run of three prolines. It differs from a selective GLP-1 receptor agonist such as semaglutide, which the 2018 paper used as a comparator, in being built to engage two receptors.
Where Tirzepatide comes from
The molecule was introduced by Coskun and colleagues at Eli Lilly and Company in Molecular Metabolism in 2018, under the code LY3298176. The paper calls it a GIP-based dual incretin receptor agonist and credits the molecule design to J. Alsina-Fernandez. It reports the chemical structure, receptor binding and signaling in cell lines, studies in mice, and a first human Phase 1 study registered as NCT02759107. Tirzepatide is the later nonproprietary name, listed in PubChem as a JAN and USAN, and Mounjaro and Zepbound are the trade names of the two finished products. The short form Tirz is informal.
What Tirzepatide binds
Tirzepatide is an agonist at two class B G protein-coupled receptors: the gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor and the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor. Coskun and colleagues measured binding constants of 0.135 nM at the human GIP receptor, comparable to native GIP, and 4.23 nM at the GLP-1 receptor, about fivefold weaker than native GLP-1, with minimal activity at the glucagon receptor. UniProt describes both receptors as acting through G proteins that activate adenylyl cyclase and raise intracellular cyclic AMP, which is the readout the paper used. The label states that the C20 fatty diacid enables binding to albumin.
Tirzepatide in the research literature
The 2018 paper used HEK293 cells expressing either the human GIP receptor or the human GLP-1 receptor for binding and cyclic AMP accumulation assays, along with human pancreatic beta ECN90 cells and primary human adipocytes. It also used pancreatic islets isolated from mice, and wild-type, GIP receptor null and GLP-1 receptor null C57BL/6 mice, the null strains serving to separate the contribution of each receptor. The human work in that paper was a three-part Phase 1 study, sponsored by Eli Lilly and listed as completed on ClinicalTrials.gov. The authors closed by calling for a Phase 2 program.
Regulatory status of Tirzepatide
Tirzepatide is an FDA-approved drug substance. The Mounjaro label gives the initial United States approval as 2022, and Drugs@FDA records the original approval of Zepbound, under NDA 217806 held by Eli Lilly and Co, on November 8, 2023. Those approvals cover specific finished products made by the application holder. A research reagent is a different article: it is not one of those products and has not been reviewed by any agency. Anhydrolabs supplies it as a reference reagent for in-vitro laboratory research only, not for human or veterinary diagnosis, treatment, or consumption.
Handling Tirzepatide in the laboratory
The material is a lyophilized powder in a vacuum-sealed vial. Keep it frozen at -4 °F and protected from light. Let the vial reach room temperature before breaking the seal, so that moisture from the air does not condense on the cold powder. Once dissolved for in-vitro work, a solution keeps for about four weeks at 39 °F. Divide a stock solution into single-use aliquots instead of freezing and thawing it repeatedly. The 2018 paper reports that the peptide was solubilized in phosphate-buffered saline for laboratory work. Because the fatty diacid side chain binds albumin, its authors ran binding and cyclic AMP assays without albumin, and that condition should be recorded with any potency value.
Sources
- Coskun et al., discovery paper for LY3298176, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist (Molecular Metabolism 18:3-14, 2018)
- PubChem compound summary: Tirzepatide, CID 166567236
- UniProtKB P48546: Gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor, human (GIPR)
- UniProtKB P43220: Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor, human (GLP1R)
- DailyMed: Mounjaro (tirzepatide) injection, prescribing information
- Drugs@FDA: NDA 217806, Zepbound (tirzepatide)
Research notes on Tirzepatide
- GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: A Research PrimerWhat a GLP-1 receptor agonist is: the receptor, native GLP-1, how exenatide, liraglutide, semaglutide and multi-agonists differ, and lab handling.
- Tirzepatide vs Retatrutide: Receptor Targets ComparedTirzepatide vs retatrutide: how retatrutide and tirzepatide compare in receptor targets, sequence, half-life and FDA status, with semaglutide for reference.
Tirzepatide: common questions
Is Tirz the same as Tirzepatide?
Yes. Tirz is another name for Tirzepatide, which is also written LY3298176 (CAS 2023788-19-2). It is the same compound, supplied here as a lyophilized powder for in-vitro laboratory research use only.
What is Tirzepatide supplied as?
Tirzepatide is supplied as a lyophilized (freeze-dried) powder in a vacuum-sealed vial, in 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, 40 mg and 60 mg, for in-vitro laboratory research use only.
Is Tirzepatide available as a 10-vial kit?
Yes. Tirzepatide comes in a 10-vial kit: 10 mg for $166.50 ($16.65 per vial); 15 mg for $207.00 ($20.70 per vial); 20 mg for $360.00 ($36.00 per vial); 30 mg for $405.00 ($40.50 per vial); 40 mg for $450.00 ($45.00 per vial); 60 mg for $540.00 ($54.00 per vial), presale prices. A kit is ten sealed vials of the same size, priced below ten single vials.
When do Tirzepatide presale kits ship?
By Dec 12, 2026. Presale kits are 10% off. If we cannot ship by Dec 12, 2026, we tell you before that date and you can cancel for a full refund.
What is the CAS number of Tirzepatide?
The CAS registry number of Tirzepatide is 2023788-19-2.
How should Tirzepatide be stored?
Frozen at −4 °F and protected from light, from the day it arrives. Let the vial reach room temperature before breaking the seal; once reconstituted, stability holds for about four weeks refrigerated at 39 °F.
How fast does Tirzepatide ship?
Presale kits ship from the United States by Dec 12, 2026, to US addresses. Sizes marked in stock ship within 1 business day of payment.
Is Tirzepatide for human use?
No. It is supplied as a reference reagent for laboratory research use. Not for human or veterinary use, and not for diagnostic or therapeutic application.
What receptors does tirzepatide bind?
Tirzepatide binds and activates the GIP receptor and the GLP-1 receptor, both class B G protein-coupled receptors that signal through adenylyl cyclase and cyclic AMP. The 2018 discovery paper reported binding constants of 0.135 nM at the GIP receptor and 4.23 nM at the GLP-1 receptor, with minimal activity at the glucagon receptor.
Is tirzepatide approved by the FDA?
Yes. Tirzepatide is the active ingredient of two FDA-approved products from Eli Lilly: Mounjaro, first approved in 2022, and Zepbound, approved on November 8, 2023. Research-grade tirzepatide is a laboratory reagent and is not either of those finished products.
How is tirzepatide modified compared with a natural peptide?
Tirzepatide has three kinds of modification. Aminoisobutyric acid, an amino acid not encoded by the genetic code, sits at positions 2 and 13. The C-terminus is an amide. The lysine at position 20 carries 1,20-eicosanedioic acid, a C20 fatty diacid, joined through a linker, which lets the molecule bind albumin.
$166.50
Tirzepatide · 10 mg · 10-vial kit