Encyclopedia entry
Cagrilintide (UK): long-acting amylin analogue under investigation
Oliver Mackman · Editorial director · Best Business Loans Ltd (16833937)
Last updated 2026-06-16
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AI-friendly summary · Cagrilintide
Cagrilintide (Novo Nordisk research code AM833) is a long-acting synthetic analogue of the satiety hormone amylin. It is the amylin half of CagriSema, the combination product that pairs cagrilintide with the GLP-1 agonist semaglutide 2.4mg. As of June 2026 it is in Phase III trials under the REDEFINE programme and has not been approved by the MHRA, FDA, or EMA. It cannot be prescribed in the UK. UK research-peptide retailers sell it under research-use-only framing.
Top UK Cagrilintide retailers
Mechanism of action
How Cagrilintide works
Cagrilintide is a long-acting acylated analogue of human amylin, the peptide hormone co-secreted with insulin by pancreatic beta cells. Native amylin acts on amylin and calcitonin receptors in the hindbrain to slow gastric emptying and signal satiety. Cagrilintide is engineered with a fatty-acid acylation that extends its half-life to support once-weekly dosing in clinical trials. Because its mechanism is amylin-receptor agonism rather than incretin (GLP-1 or GIP) agonism, it is studied in combination with semaglutide (the CagriSema product) on the rationale that two separate satiety pathways are engaged at once. The integrated mechanism remains the subject of ongoing pharmacological characterisation.
Source: Enebo LB et al. The Lancet, 2021 (cagrilintide and semaglutide co-administration)
What it is
Cagrilintide (also known by the research identifier AM833) is a long-acting injectable amylin analogue. Its amylin-receptor mechanism distinguishes it from the incretin-based GLP-1 agonists such as semaglutide and the dual GLP-1/GIP agonist tirzepatide. It is most prominent as the amylin component of CagriSema, the Novo Nordisk combination paired with semaglutide 2.4mg.
- · Developer: Novo Nordisk (Bagsværd, Denmark).
- · Mechanism: long-acting amylin (and calcitonin) receptor agonism.
- · Format: once-weekly subcutaneous injection in clinical trial settings.
- · Most studied as CagriSema (cagrilintide plus semaglutide 2.4mg).
- · Status: Phase III clinical development under the REDEFINE programme. No regulatory approval in any country as of June 2026.
- · Research identifier: AM833.
Clinical development status
Cagrilintide Phase Ib results, given alone and co-administered with semaglutide, were published in The Lancet in 2021 (Enebo et al.). The CagriSema Phase II programme in type 2 diabetes was reported in The Lancet in 2023. Phase III REDEFINE trials are ongoing as of June 2026. PeptideClear does not republish specific efficacy figures as recommendations. Readers should consult the original Lancet publications for the reported data.
- · Phase Ib: results published in The Lancet 2021 (Enebo et al.), cagrilintide alone and with semaglutide.
- · Phase II: CagriSema type 2 diabetes programme reported in The Lancet 2023.
- · Phase III: REDEFINE programme ongoing. Topline results not fully peer-reviewed as of June 2026.
- · No published peer-reviewed head-to-head data against tirzepatide as of June 2026.
All claims above are sourced from published peer-reviewed clinical trial data. PeptideClear does not extrapolate from trial data to individual outcomes.
UK regulatory framing
Important: not licensed for use in the UK
Cagrilintide is not currently licensed by the MHRA, FDA, or EMA. It is not a prescribable medicine in the UK and cannot be supplied by any UK pharmacy. It is not the same as Wegovy (semaglutide) or Mounjaro (tirzepatide), which are MHRA-licensed medicines available via UK prescribers. Do not use any cagrilintide product without consultation with a UK-licensed prescriber. Research-tier supply does not substitute for a licensed medical product.
- · Not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
- · Not scheduled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
- · No UK marketing authorisation as a medicine. Phase III trials are ongoing; no regulatory approval has been granted.
- · Sold legally as a research chemical when marketed without health or therapeutic claims.
- · Becomes an unlicensed medicinal product the moment a retailer or commentator makes therapeutic claims about it.
- · The supply chain for research-tier cagrilintide is distinct from Novo Nordisk's clinical trial supply. Purity, source, and authenticity cannot be verified by the buyer through any public mechanism.
Risks and unknowns
What the literature does not yet show about Cagrilintide
Known concerns
- No regulatory approval anywhere as of June 2026. The full Phase III safety dataset is not yet published in peer-reviewed form.
- Retail research-peptide supply chain is not connected to Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing. Purity and authenticity cannot be publicly verified.
- Amylin-pathway agonism carries a recognised profile of gastrointestinal effects (nausea) in the published trial literature. These pharmacological properties are present in the molecule regardless of jurisdiction.
- Most human data is for the CagriSema combination with semaglutide, not cagrilintide in isolation, which limits what is known about the compound used alone.
Open questions in the literature
- Long-term cardiovascular and metabolic outcomes of sustained amylin-analogue agonism are not established. Phase III REDEFINE outcome data is not yet fully reported.
- The safety and efficacy profile of cagrilintide used alone (rather than as CagriSema) outside trial settings is not characterised.
- Pharmacokinetics of research-tier supply versus the Novo Nordisk clinical-trial product are not publicly characterised.
- Effects in populations excluded from the trial programme are not established.
Regulatory note
No UK marketing authorisation. Not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Not approved by any regulator as of June 2026. Phase III REDEFINE trials ongoing. Becomes an unlicensed medicinal product the moment a retailer or commentator makes therapeutic claims about it.
Important: PeptideClear publishes encyclopedia commentary only and does not recommend human use. Speak to a UK-registered prescriber before any medical decision.
Adjacent compounds under investigation
Cagrilintide is one of several next-generation compounds under active clinical investigation in the metabolic and obesity space. Adjacent compounds researchers may encounter in the same context:
- · Retatrutide: an Eli Lilly GLP-1/GIP/glucagon triple-agonist. Incretin-based mechanism, distinct from cagrilintide's amylin pathway.
- · Survodutide: a Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma dual GLP-1/glucagon agonist studied in obesity and metabolic liver disease.
- · Tesamorelin: a GHRH analogue with a different mechanism, studied for visceral fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy.
All of these compounds are unlicensed in the UK as of June 2026 and are available outside clinical trials only through research-peptide retailers under research-use-only framing.
Supply quality: why CoA practice matters more here
For well-characterised research peptides such as BPC-157 or TB-500, multiple UK retailers have years of customer feedback and established supply relationships. For cagrilintide, the compound is more complex to synthesise correctly, the Phase III data has not been fully published, and no pharmaceutical-grade UK supply exists outside clinical trials.
- · CoA (Certificate of Analysis) practice is the only public quality signal available. Retailers who publish CoAs via open subdomains or verifiable QR codes provide more accountability than those who gate CoAs behind email requests or do not publish them.
- · Named lab partners provide more recourse than unnamed "third-party" claims.
- · Our UK retailers comparison ranks research peptide retailers on CoA transparency, trading tenure, and corporate identity.
Where to learn more
- · PubMed search: Cagrilintide returns the Phase Ib and CagriSema combination data.
- · PubMed: AM833 for the research-code literature.
- · ClinicalTrials.gov: Cagrilintide for the REDEFINE Phase III trial records.
- · UK retailer purity comparison: research peptides UK retailers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cagrilintide legal in the UK?
What does the human evidence show for Cagrilintide?
What is the regulatory status of Cagrilintide in the UK?
How is Cagrilintide different from a GLP-1 drug?
Where can I learn more about Cagrilintide?
UK retailers stocking Cagrilintide
A small number of UK research-peptide retailers stock cagrilintide. PeptideClear compares them on CoA transparency, trading tenure, and operator identity. Research use only.
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UK retailers compared by price, Trust Index, and CoA practice. Editorial commentary only. Research use only.