SANA (MVD1): Creatine-Driven Thermogenesis
A salicylate-based nitroalkene from Eolo Pharma that aims to burn fat by revving the creatine futile cycle — a different axis than GLP-1 appetite suppression. Here's what the peer-reviewed evidence actually shows, and how early it still is.
How It Works
In beige and brown fat, creatine kinase drives a 'futile' cycle that repeatedly phosphorylates and dephosphorylates creatine, spending ATP as heat instead of storing energy. Cold and β3-agonists switch it on (Kazak & Spiegelman, Cell 2015).
SANA is a nitroalkene derivative of salicylate — the aspirin family. The parent salicylate is a classic AMPK activator (Science 2012); SANA, by contrast, drives fat thermogenesis through the creatine pathway and works independently of AMPK (Nat Metab 2025).
In preclinical models SANA raises creatine-dependent energy expenditure in fat, working even at thermoneutrality and without UCP1 or AMPK — the two pathways most 'fat-burning' compounds lean on (Nat Metab 2025).
GLP-1 drugs cut how much you eat; SANA aims to raise how much you burn. The authors frame it as a complement to — not a replacement for — incretin therapy for 'diabesity'.
What the Data Shows
Key Takeaways
- SANA (MVD1) is a real drug candidate from Eolo Pharma (research led at Institut Pasteur Montevideo), with first-in-human data published in Nature Metabolism in 2025.
- It is a nitroalkene derivative of salicylate that increases creatine-dependent energy expenditure in fat — a genuine, well-mapped thermogenic pathway (Cell 2015; Nature 2021).
- In mice it reduced diet-induced obesity, liver steatosis and insulin resistance, working without UCP1 or AMPK and even at thermoneutrality.
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1A/B trial (single doses 200–800 mg; 200–400 mg/day for 15 days) found it safe and well tolerated.
- It targets a different axis than GLP-1 drugs — raising energy expenditure rather than suppressing appetite — so the two could be complementary.
- SANA is NOT approved, NOT sold as a supplement, and NOT a research chemical you can safely self-source — anything sold online as 'SANA' is unverified.
- The Phase 1 trial's primary goal was safety; the weight and glucose changes over 15 days were exploratory signals, not proof it treats obesity.
- No Phase 2 efficacy results have been published — the real-world weight-loss magnitude in patients is unknown.
- Most mechanistic proof comes from mice; how much the creatine futile cycle contributes to human energy expenditure is still debated.
- Creatine monohydrate is not a proven substitute — no cited study compared it with SANA, and the dietary-creatine rescue result comes from mice lacking fat-cell creatine synthesis (Cell Metabolism 2017).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SANA (MVD1)?
SANA (MVD1) is an experimental anti-obesity drug from Eolo Pharma. Chemically it is a nitroalkene derivative of salicylate (a 'salicylate-based nitroalkene'). It promotes weight loss by activating creatine-dependent thermogenesis in fat tissue — burning energy as heat — rather than by suppressing appetite. Its first-in-human data were published in Nature Metabolism in 2025.
How is SANA different from Ozempic or retatrutide?
GLP-1 and multi-agonist drugs like semaglutide and retatrutide mainly reduce how much you eat. SANA works on the other side of the energy equation: it aims to increase how many calories fat tissue burns via the creatine futile cycle, independently of UCP1 and AMPK. In theory the two approaches are complementary, but SANA is far earlier in development.
Does SANA actually cause weight loss in humans?
Not proven yet. The 2025 Phase 1A/B trial was designed to test safety and tolerability, which SANA passed. It showed beneficial early signals on body weight and glucose within two weeks, but those were exploratory endpoints in a small, short study — not a powered efficacy trial. No Phase 2 efficacy results in people with obesity have been published yet.
Can I buy SANA, or take creatine to get the same effect?
No. SANA is an investigational drug that is not approved or legally sold, and products marketed as 'SANA' online are unverified and potentially unsafe. Creatine is not a proven substitute: none of the studies cited here compared creatine monohydrate supplements with SANA. In mice lacking fat-cell creatine synthesis, dietary creatine rescued a blunted β3-adrenergic metabolic-rate response (Cell Metabolism 2017), so creatine availability does matter in fat, but that is not evidence that supplements cause weight loss in people.
Is the creatine thermogenesis mechanism real?
Yes. The creatine-driven futile cycle in beige and brown fat was mapped by Kazak, Spiegelman and colleagues (Cell 2015; Cell Metabolism 2017), and the controlling enzyme, creatine kinase B, was identified in 2021 (Nature). It is a legitimate, UCP1-independent thermogenic pathway. What is new and unproven is drugging it for weight loss in humans.
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SANA (MVD1) is an investigational compound not approved for human use outside clinical trials. Nothing here is an endorsement to obtain or self-administer it.