InBody accumulates clinical evidence from hospitals…targeting GLP-1 mkt

Utilizing installed devices in hospitals for research…over 10,000 academic papers

Emergency dialysis, heart failure, fluid management, and AI sleep disorders

Business transformation leveraging the analysis of 308,331 cases and collaboration with China’s big pharma

InBody, a body composition analysis company, is rapidly expanding into the market for GLP-1 obesity therapeutics, based on its accumulated clinical research and data in medical settings.

The company's strategy extends beyond equipment sales, broadening its application scope as a clinical monitoring tool for treatment progress while driving new demand through body composition data analysis and strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical companies. Accumulated body composition data from InBody devices worldwide has now surpassed 200 million cases.

Installed machines translating into clinical research

InBody's core strength lies in its extensive installed base established across medical institutions. Even without direct corporate involvement, independent researchers frequently utilize InBody devices to conduct clinical studies, allowing the company to build a diverse track record of research and development achievements.

InBody highlighted fluid management in emergency dialysis and heart failure patients as representative clinical projects undertaken jointly by its internal clinical team and external research groups. The company is also actively expanding its research support overseas.

According to quarterly financial filings, over 10,000 academic papers have utilized InBody devices or cited its test results. Clinical adoption is further backed by specialized medical equipment, such as the BWA (Body Water Analyzer), which measures body water in dialysis and lymphedema patients, and research-grade systems that analyze localized impedance variations.

The scope of research is also expanding beyond weight management and obesity into areas such as sleep disorders. Recently, a joint research team from Ilsan Paik Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, and KAIST developed I-SLEEPS, an artificial intelligence model designed to screen for sleep disorder risks using skeletal muscle index (SMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) measured via InBody.

The research team evaluated data from 3,291 patients who underwent both polysomnography and InBody measurements, followed by external validation on an additional cohort of 195 patients. The predictive accuracy for complex sleep disorders reached up to 97%. These findings demonstrate that body composition data can serve as a critical clinical variable for stratifying high-risk patient groups beyond basic health screening.

I-SLEEPS: InBody-based sleep disorder prediction model

Capturing early muscle loss in initial treatment via GLP-1 data

GLP-1 obesity therapeutics sit at the center of InBody's recent market expansion. As adoption of these therapies grows rapidly, clinical demand is surging to evaluate specific changes in body fat and skeletal muscle mass rather than merely tracking overall weight reduction.

InBody analyzed 38,331 body composition datasets from domestic users of GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs. The analysis revealed that 70.6% of subjects underwent two or more tests, repeatedly monitoring longitudinal shifts in body composition throughout their treatment course.

Over 16 weeks, female patients experienced an average weight loss of 7.06 kg, while male patients lost 8.36 kg. Over the same timeframe, skeletal muscle mass decreased by 1.3 kg in females and 1.4 kg in males, with relatively pronounced losses observed within the first four weeks following baseline testing. These findings highlight the clinical necessity of concurrently monitoring muscle mass and body fat kinetics from the earliest stages of weight loss.

Clinical evidence and data are directly translating into commercial opportunities. InBody's Chinese subsidiary initiated supplies of its professional body composition analyzer, the InBody260S, after participating in a weight management clinic project operated by a global pharmaceutical company through a local pharmacy franchise.

InBody GLP-1 webinar, evaluating 2026 GLP-1 market

This collaboration is expanding beyond retail pharmacies into hospital environments. InBody contracted to supply its InBody770CH-N and InBody270 models to hospital-based weight management clinics operated by global pharma. The devices will be used to assess pre- and post-treatment changes in body fat, muscle mass, and body water under GLP-1 therapy, as well as to support clinical obesity consultations.

InBody recorded first-quarter sales of KRW 68.4 billion this year, representing a 23.1% year-over-year increase. Professional body composition and body water analyzers accounted for 71% of total sales, with overseas markets generating 87% of revenue.

Ultimately, the key challenge is transforming research achievements beyond hardware supply into a sustainable framework for recurring patient management.

If standardized protocols are established determining when body composition should be measured during GLP-1 therapy and how results should be integrated into clinical care, InBody is anticipated to expand from a complementary diagnostic tool sold alongside obesity medications into a core medical infrastructure that actively manages therapeutic progress.