Cagrilintide (Novo Nordisk code AM833) is a long-acting version of amylin, a hormone the pancreas releases alongside insulin. Unlike the GLP-1 and GIP drugs, it works through a different appetite pathway — which is exactly why it's interesting. On its own it produces solid weight loss in trials, and paired with semaglutide (the combination is called CagriSema) the two mechanisms stack.
Research Background
Amylin signals fullness, but natural amylin breaks down too fast to be useful as a weekly agent. Cagrilintide is an acylated analog engineered for once-weekly dosing. Novo Nordisk moved it through a first-in-combination phase 1b study with semaglutide (2021), phase 2 monotherapy and diabetes trials (2021–2023), and into the phase 3 REDEFINE program, where CagriSema is being developed as a fixed combination.
How It Works
Cagrilintide acts on the amylin and calcitonin receptor family, engaging satiety neurons in the hypothalamus and hindbrain to reduce food intake and slow gastric emptying. Because amylin and GLP-1 signal through distinct but complementary pathways, combining cagrilintide with a GLP-1 agonist like semaglutide produces additive — arguably synergistic — reductions in appetite and weight. Amylin signaling is also thought to help restore leptin sensitivity, which is part of the mechanistic case for pairing it with GLP-1 drugs rather than just using more of one.
What the Research Shows
- Monotherapy (Lau et al., The Lancet, 2021): over 26 weeks, cagrilintide produced dose-dependent weight loss of 6.0% to 10.8% across doses, versus 3.0% for placebo. At the top dose it also beat the active comparator liraglutide 3.0 mg (10.8% vs 9.0%).
- First combination study (Enebo et al., The Lancet, 2021): co-administering cagrilintide with semaglutide 2.4 mg was well tolerated, with gastrointestinal events the most common side effect — establishing the basis for CagriSema.
- In type 2 diabetes (Frías et al., The Lancet, 2023): CagriSema produced greater weight loss than either component alone, with an HbA1c reduction of roughly 1.8 percentage points over about 32 weeks.
- REDEFINE 1 (Garvey et al., NEJM, 2025): the phase 3 obesity trial reported mean weight reduction around 20–23% at 68 weeks depending on the analysis, with a large share of participants losing 25% or more of body weight — and CagriSema outperformed semaglutide alone and cagrilintide alone.
Storage & Handling
Cagrilintide is supplied in lyophilized (freeze-dried) form. Store it at -20°C or below, protected from light and moisture. Reconstitute with a sterile solvent immediately before use, and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CagriSema?
CagriSema is the fixed combination of cagrilintide (an amylin analog) plus semaglutide (a GLP-1 agonist). The two act on different appetite pathways, which is why the combination produces more weight loss than either alone in trials.
How is cagrilintide different from GLP-1 drugs?
GLP-1 and GIP agonists work through incretin pathways; cagrilintide works through the amylin/calcitonin receptor system. That's why it's studied both on its own and as a complement to GLP-1 agents.
What purity does Dynamite Research Peptides provide?
Our cagrilintide is 99%+ purity with a Certificate of Analysis for every batch.
All products are for research use only — not for human or animal consumption.