Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of Mirabegron (YM-178) and MOTS-c — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
Mirabegron is a non-peptide, small-molecule selective β3-adrenergic receptor agonist FDA-approved in 2012 for overactive bladder at 25–50 mg/day oral dosing. It is also sold as unregulated 'research use only' powder by fine-chemical vendors, despite being a prescription pharmaceutical. Investigational metabolic research has used a supratherapeutic 100 mg/day dose to study brown adipose tissue activation—an off-label, non-approved use. Mirabegron is pharmacologically distinct from WADA-prohibited β2-agonists, though its it is not on the WADA Prohibited List (only beta-2 agonists are prohibited, Category S3).
MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide (MDP) encoded within the mitochondrial 12S rRNA, discovered by Lee and Cohen at USC in 2015 (sequence: MRWQEMGYIFYPRKLR). It is an investigational, research-only peptide studied as a metabolic regulator; it has not been approved by the FDA for any indication.
Mirabegron (YM-178)
MOTS-c
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Half-life
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
Mirabegron (YM-178)
No pricing data yet.
Check Mirabegron (YM-178) prices →MOTS-c
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Mirabegron (YM-178)
1
COAs
99.8%
Avg purity
1
Labs
MOTS-c
193
COAs
99.5%
Avg purity
16
Labs
Mirabegron is an FDA-approved drug with extensive human data, not a novel research chemical. Approved adult dosing is 25 mg once daily, increased to 50 mg after 4–8 weeks for overactive bladder. A registered clinical trial (NCT04823442) used 100 mg/day for 4 weeks in 14 healthy women, reporting increased brown adipose tissue activity/volume, HDL cholesterol, insulin sensitivity, and resting energy expenditure with no change in body weight or fat mass (O'Mara et al., J Clin Invest 2020, PMID 31961826)—an open-label study without placebo control. Rat studies confirmed selective β3-adrenoceptor agonist activity with bladder-relaxant effects (Hatanaka et al., 2013, PMID 23239087). Ex vivo porcine ureter studies found mirabegron reduced contractility partly via α1-adrenoceptor antagonism, complicating a pure β3-selectivity profile at the ureter (PMC9192402).
Lee et al. (Cell Metabolism, 2015; PMID 25738459) identified MOTS-c and showed that exogenous administration in mice prevented diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance via AMPK activation in skeletal muscle. Kim et al. (Cell Metabolism, 2018; PMID 29983246) demonstrated that MOTS-c translocates to the nucleus under metabolic stress and regulates antioxidant response element (ARE) genes. Reynolds et al. (Nature Communications, 2021; PMID 33473109) reported that exercise induces MOTS-c in human skeletal muscle and that MOTS-c treatment improved physical capacity in young, middle-aged, and aged mice. Human clinical data are limited to CohBar's Phase 1a/1b study of the analog CB4211 in healthy volunteers and obese NAFLD subjects, which reported acceptable tolerability and exploratory signals on ALT/AST and glucose; CohBar wound down the program in 2023. No completed Phase 2 or Phase 3 trials exist for MOTS-c or its analogs, and grey-market dosing (typically ~10 mg SubQ 2-3x/week) is not clinically validated.
Key references
Mirabegron (YM-178) and MOTS-c are both in the Metabolic category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Disclosed Labs