Cagrilintide: what the research shows

What cagrilintide is

Amylin is a hormone made by the pancreas that induces satiety. Natural amylin is hard to turn into a research or drug molecule because it readily forms amyloid fibrils and has a short half-life. [1] [2]

Cagrilintide is a stable, lipidated, long-acting amylin analogue developed by Novo Nordisk; the 2021 paper describing it reports the structure-activity work that led to its selection for clinical development in obesity. In a phase 1b study its half-life was about 159 to 195 hours. [1] [2] [3]

How it has been studied

Cagrilintide has been tested on its own and together with semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist. The trials below were randomised and placebo-controlled, and all were funded by Novo Nordisk. [2] [3] [4]

In the phase 2 trial the highest cagrilintide dose also lowered body weight more than the active comparator, liraglutide (10.8% against 9.0%). In the phase 1b study, cagrilintide did not change exposure to semaglutide. [2] [3]

Trial	Who took part	Length	Main published result
Phase 2, cagrilintide alone (2021)	706 adults with overweight or obesity on cagrilintide, plus comparator and placebo groups	26 weeks	Mean body-weight reduction of 6.0% to 10.8% across doses, against 3.0% with placebo [2]
Phase 1b, with semaglutide (2021)	96 adults with overweight or obesity	20 weeks of treatment	Combination well tolerated, with an acceptable safety profile; larger and longer trials needed [3]
Phase 3a REDEFINE 1, with semaglutide (2025)	3,417 adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes	68 weeks	Mean body-weight change of -20.4% with the combination, against -3.0% with placebo; the trial also had cagrilintide-only and semaglutide-only groups [4]

Safety findings reported so far

In the phase 2 trial the most frequent adverse events were gastrointestinal disorders such as nausea, constipation and diarrhoea, and administration-site reactions. Gastrointestinal adverse events affected 41% to 63% of participants on cagrilintide and 32% on placebo, mainly nausea. [2]

In REDEFINE 1, gastrointestinal adverse events affected 79.6% of participants on the combination and 39.9% on placebo; they were mainly transient and mild to moderate. [4]

Regulatory status (October 2026)

Cagrilintide is not an approved medicine. The US Food and Drug Administration states that cagrilintide is not a component of any FDA-approved drug, has not been found safe and effective for any condition, and cannot be used in compounding under federal law. [5]

Research material is not a medicine: it has not been reviewed for safety, effectiveness or quality in people and must not be used in people. We sell cagrilintide only for in vitro laboratory research, without instructions for use.

Storage and stability in the lab

Peptides can degrade through chemical routes such as oxidation, deamidation and hydrolysis and through physical routes such as aggregation, and they are generally more stable in the dry state than in solution. [6]

Lyophilised vials are therefore normally kept cold, dry and away from light until they are reconstituted. The storage statement on the product page and on the batch certificate takes precedence.

How to check a batch

A useful certificate of analysis names the testing laboratory, the batch number printed on the vial, the test date and the methods used. Identity is usually confirmed by mass spectrometry, where the measured mass should match the expected molecular mass, and purity is measured by HPLC. Because cagrilintide is lipidated, the expected mass includes the attached fatty-acid chain. [1]

Where the manufacturer supplies a batch report, we link it on the product page; products without one do not claim one.

Common questions

What is amylin?

A hormone made by the pancreas that induces satiety. Cagrilintide is a long-acting, lipidated analogue of it, designed to avoid natural amylin's tendency to form amyloid fibrils.

Is cagrilintide approved?

No. As of October 2026 the FDA states that cagrilintide is not a component of any approved drug and has not been found safe and effective for any condition.

Why is cagrilintide studied together with semaglutide?

The two act on different hormone systems, amylin and GLP-1. Trials have tested the combination against each molecule alone and against placebo; in REDEFINE 1 the combination group had a mean weight change of -20.4% against -3.0% with placebo over 68 weeks.

Can I buy cagrilintide for personal use?

No. Everything we sell is for in vitro laboratory research by adults aged 21 or over. It is not for use in people or animals, and we give no advice on use or dosing.