Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analog developed by Novo Nordisk, originally under the code AM833. Amylin is a hormone the pancreas releases together with insulin after a meal, and it helps signal fullness. Cagrilintide is an engineered version of that hormone designed to last long enough for once-weekly dosing. Its CAS number is 1415456-99-3 and its molecular formula is C194H312N54O59S2 (PubChem CID 171397054).
Most of the attention on cagrilintide comes from CagriSema, the fixed combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide (the GLP-1 drug in Ozempic and Wegovy). The two hormones work through different pathways, which is the rationale for pairing them.
How it works
Amylin analogs act on satiety circuits in the hindbrain and hypothalamus, slowing gastric emptying and reducing food intake. That is a separate mechanism from GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide, which is why researchers have tested the two together rather than as interchangeable options. The combination idea is that hitting two appetite pathways at once produces more weight loss than either alone.
What the research shows
The clinical record for cagrilintide is unusually developed for a peptide sold in the gray market, because Novo Nordisk has run it through a full trial program.
- Phase 1b (2021). A randomized, placebo-controlled trial tested ascending doses of cagrilintide combined with semaglutide 2.4 mg in people with overweight or obesity. The combination produced more weight loss than semaglutide alone and was generally well tolerated (Enebo et al., *The Lancet*, 202100845-X/abstract)).
- Phase 2 dose-finding (2021). A 26-week trial in 706 adults with overweight or obesity and no diabetes compared once-weekly cagrilintide (0.3 to 4.5 mg) against once-daily liraglutide 3.0 mg and placebo. The top 4.5 mg dose produced about 10.8% weight loss, and the 4.5 mg dose was significantly more effective than liraglutide (Lau et al., *The Lancet*, 202101751-7/abstract)).
- Phase 3 REDEFINE 1 (2024). In a 68-week trial of 3,417 adults with obesity or overweight plus a related condition, cagrilintide 2.4 mg as monotherapy reduced body weight by about 11.8%. CagriSema reached 22.7%, compared with 16.1% for semaglutide 2.4 mg alone and 2.3% for placebo (Novo Nordisk company announcement).
Reported side effects across these trials were mostly gastrointestinal and mild to moderate, consistent with the drug class. Anyone wanting the full safety picture should read the trial publications rather than rely on a summary.
Regulatory and WADA status
Cagrilintide is not approved as a standalone drug anywhere. Novo Nordisk filed a New Drug Application for CagriSema (cagrilintide 2.4 mg plus semaglutide 2.4 mg) with the FDA in December 2025, with review expected during 2026 (Novo Nordisk press release, December 2025). Until any approval lands, cagrilintide remains investigational. Vials sold online are not approved medicines, are labeled research-use-only, and are not intended for human consumption.
The buyer-quality angle
Because cagrilintide is a 37-residue peptide with two cysteine residues forming a disulfide bridge, it is harder to make cleanly than a short linear peptide. Misfolds, deletion sequences, and incorrect disulfide pairing are real failure modes, and none of them are visible by eye. A gray-market vial has no manufacturer quality system behind it, so the only window into what is actually in it is a third-party certificate of analysis. Look for identity confirmation (usually mass spectrometry) and a purity figure by HPLC, ideally on the specific batch you are buying rather than a generic sample. peptideone aggregates independent vendor ratings and testing signals to help compare that documentation, but no aggregated rating substitutes for a batch-specific COA.
Nothing here is medical or dosing advice. This is a neutral summary of public information.