Cagrilintide

What Is Cagrilintide?

Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analog developed by Novo Nordisk. Amylin is a pancreatic peptide that reduces appetite and slows gastric emptying through central nervous system pathways distinct from GLP-1. It has been studied on its own and in combination with semaglutide (the combination is known as CagriSema).

Published Clinical Data

• Phase 2, cagrilintide alone (Lau et al., The Lancet, 2021): 706 adults with overweight or obesity were randomised to once-weekly cagrilintide (0.3 to 4.5 mg), daily liraglutide 3.0 mg or placebo for 26 weeks. Mean body-weight reduction was 6.0% to 10.8% across the cagrilintide doses versus 3.0% with placebo, and weight had not plateaued by week 26.
• Phase 3, cagrilintide + semaglutide (REDEFINE 1, New England Journal of Medicine, 2025): 3,417 adults without diabetes were followed for 68 weeks. The combination produced a mean 20.4% body-weight reduction versus 3.0% with placebo.
• Reported side effects: gastrointestinal events (nausea, constipation, diarrhea) were the most common in both programs, more frequent than with placebo.

Cagrilintide is an investigational compound and is not approved by the FDA. Figures are from the published trials and are provided for research reference only.

Research Context

• Amylin receptor agonism and hypothalamic appetite signaling
• Combination with GLP-1 agonists for additive appetite suppression (CagriSema trials)
• Gastric emptying modulation and postprandial glucose control
• Dual-pathway weight management research vs single-agent approaches