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Retatrutide in chronic kidney disease: what the TRANSCEND-CKD data show

Null Bio Lab Research Desk · Last reviewed October 24, 2026 · Research use only

Scope. This article summarises published laboratory literature for readers working with retatrutide as a research reagent. It gives no dosing, administration or usage guidance, and nothing here is a statement about any use in humans or animals. Retatrutide is an investigational compound and is not an authorised medicine in the EU or US. This page reports third-party clinical research. It is not evidence about any product sold by Null Bio Lab.
Key facts
  • Trial: TRANSCEND-CKD, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b study
  • Population: adults with overweight or obesity (BMI ≥27) and chronic kidney disease (eGFR 25–75), with or without type 2 diabetes; 146 randomised
  • Duration: 24 weeks of treatment
  • Headline result: urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) fell 53.7% vs 8.8% on placebo, in the subgroup with baseline UACR ≥30 mg/g (about 30% of participants)
  • Primary endpoint: measured GFR; no significant difference from placebo
  • Source: a conference poster (Kidney Week 2026), not yet a peer-reviewed paper

What was reported

At the American Society of Nephrology's Kidney Week 2026, Hiddo Heerspink and colleagues presented the first results of TRANSCEND-CKD, a phase 2b trial of retatrutide, an investigational triple agonist of the GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptors.1 Social media summaries focused on one number, a 54% reduction in urinary albumin. This page sets out the numbers in full, including the ones that did not reach significance. For how retatrutide works at the receptor level, see our retatrutide review.

How the trial was designed

The design was published before the results. Participants were adults with overweight or obesity and established chronic kidney disease, with or without type 2 diabetes. They were randomised 1:1 to once-weekly retatrutide or matching placebo at 42 sites in Canada, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA. The primary endpoint was the change in measured GFR (by iohexol clearance) at week 24, which is a more direct readout of filtration than the usual estimated GFR.2 The analysis presented at Kidney Week compared 75 retatrutide participants with 71 on placebo.1

The results

As reported from the poster, retatrutide compared with placebo:1

  • UACR (participants with baseline UACR ≥30 mg/g): fell 53.7% vs 8.8%; treatment difference −49.2% (95% CI −70.6% to −12.3%), significant from week 16.
  • Measured GFR (primary endpoint): −1.6 vs −0.2 mL/min/1.73 m²; difference −1.4 (95% CI −9.2 to 6.3), i.e. no significant change.
  • Estimated GFR: creatinine-based and cystatin C-based eGFR both rose significantly relative to placebo.
  • Estimated intraglomerular pressure: fell 3.2 vs 0.4 mm Hg (difference −2.8 mm Hg; 95% CI −5.3 to −0.3).
  • MRI renal artery resistive index and kidney fat: both improved; perirenal fat fell 16.1% vs 2.7%.
  • Body weight: fell 14.0 kg (about 31 lb) with retatrutide vs essentially no change on placebo.
  • Systolic blood pressure: fell 14.0 vs 1.0 mm Hg (difference −13.0 mm Hg). Diastolic pressure showed no significant difference, and pulse rate rose by 9 beats per minute.

Reading the headline number

UACR measures how much albumin leaks into urine relative to creatinine, and it is a standard marker of damage to the kidney's filter. The 53.7% figure is real, but three details matter. First, it applies to the albuminuric subgroup, roughly 30% of the trial, not to everyone enrolled. Second, the confidence interval is wide (the plausible range for the difference from placebo runs from about 12% to 71%). Third, the trial's primary endpoint, measured GFR, did not change significantly, so the kidney-function story rests on secondary and exploratory measures. The pressure and resistive-index findings are consistent with a haemodynamic explanation for the albuminuria change, but the trial was not built to prove a mechanism.1

Limits

  • The data come from a conference poster as reported by a trade outlet, not a peer-reviewed publication. Numbers can change at publication.
  • This is a small phase 2b trial (146 people) over 24 weeks. It cannot show effects on kidney failure or cardiovascular events.
  • Weight loss and blood-pressure reduction themselves lower albuminuria, so the trial cannot separate a direct kidney effect from these indirect ones.
  • The report we reviewed gave no safety or adverse-event data.

Status of retatrutide

Retatrutide is investigational and is not authorised as a medicine in the EU or US. A larger programme is under way, including TRIUMPH-Outcomes, a phase 3 study that lists cardiovascular and kidney outcomes among its aims.3 Regulatory positions change, so confirm the current status with the relevant authority.

Frequently asked questions

What is TRANSCEND-CKD?

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b trial of retatrutide in 146 adults with overweight or obesity and chronic kidney disease, with or without type 2 diabetes.

Did retatrutide cut albuminuria by 54%?

In participants with baseline UACR of 30 mg/g or more (about 30% of the trial), UACR fell 53.7% vs 8.8% on placebo. The result does not describe all participants.

Did the trial meet its primary endpoint?

The primary endpoint was the change in measured GFR at week 24. The difference from placebo was not statistically significant.

Is this peer reviewed?

Not yet. The results were presented as a poster at Kidney Week 2026. The trial design paper is peer reviewed.

Is retatrutide approved?

No. It is an investigational compound and is not an authorised medicine in the EU or US.

References

  1. Brooks A. Retatrutide lowers albuminuria, glomerular pressure in obesity and CKD. HCPLive. October 2026. Reports poster TH-PO1238 (Heerspink HJL, et al.), ASN Kidney Week 2026, Denver, October 21–25, 2026. https://www.hcplive.com/view/retatrutide-lowers-albuminuria-glomerular-pressure-in-obesity-and-ckd.
  2. Heerspink HJL, van Raalte DH, Bjornstad P, et al. Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of TRANSCEND-CKD, a retatrutide trial in chronic kidney disease. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2026;41(6):1058–1068. doi:10.1093/ndt/gfaf230.
  3. ClinicalTrials.gov. The effect of retatrutide once weekly on cardiovascular outcomes and kidney outcomes in adults living with obesity (TRIUMPH-Outcomes). Identifier NCT06383390. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06383390.

Related reading

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