Cagrilintide and Amylin Receptor Research: From Phase 2 to REDEFINE 1

• ·Cagrilintide is a long-acting, acylated analog of amylin, a peptide hormone co-secreted with insulin from pancreatic β-cells.[1][4]
• ·It acts at amylin receptors (the calcitonin receptor paired with receptor activity-modifying proteins, RAMPs) and at the calcitonin receptor itself.[5][6]
• ·A phase 2 dose-finding trial was published in The Lancet in 2021.[1] The phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial of cagrilintide co-administered with semaglutide was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025.[2]
• ·Cagrilintide is investigational in the US and not approved for any use. Research material is for laboratory use only.

Amylin (islet amyloid polypeptide, IAPP) is a 37-amino-acid peptide released with insulin after meals. It acts centrally, notably in the area postrema of the brainstem, to promote satiety, slow gastric emptying, and suppress post-meal glucagon.[5]

Human amylin is hard to work with. It aggregates into amyloid fibrils, which limits its use both as a drug and as a research tool. Pramlintide, an FDA-approved analog for diabetes, solved part of this with proline substitutions but has a short half-life. Cagrilintide was engineered to be both stable against aggregation and long-acting.[4]

Research Material

Amino Acid Sequence

Chemical Structure

Amylin receptors are heterodimers. The calcitonin receptor (CTR), a class B GPCR, pairs with one of three receptor activity-modifying proteins, and each pairing forms a distinct amylin receptor.[5]

Cagrilintide is described as a non-selective agonist with activity at amylin receptors and at CTR alone,[6] which is why it is sometimes grouped with the "dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists" (DACRAs). For in vitro work this matters: a cell line expressing CTR without RAMPs measures calcitonin receptor pharmacology, not amylin receptor pharmacology. Co-express the relevant RAMP to model each subtype:

• ·AMY1. CTR + RAMP1.
• ·AMY2. CTR + RAMP2.
• ·AMY3. CTR + RAMP3.

• ·Phase 2 (The Lancet, 2021). Lau and colleagues ran a 26-week dose-finding trial of once-weekly cagrilintide in adults with overweight or obesity, with placebo and liraglutide comparators.[1] The trial reported dose-dependent effects on body weight and a tolerability profile dominated by gastrointestinal events, and supported further development of the compound, including in combination.
• ·REDEFINE 1 (New England Journal of Medicine, 2025). A 68-week phase 3 trial in 3,417 adults without diabetes, testing cagrilintide 2.4 mg co-administered with semaglutide 2.4 mg ("CagriSema") against each component alone and against placebo.[2] Under the trial's treatment-policy estimand, mean body weight fell by 20.4% with the combination against 3.0% with placebo.[2] Novo Nordisk reported a mean reduction of 22.7% (against 2.3% with placebo) for participants who adhered to treatment.[3] The trial is the main evidence for combining amylin and GLP-1 receptor agonism.

The two systems overlap in effect but differ in where and how they act. GLP-1R agonists act on hypothalamic and brainstem circuits and on the pancreas; amylin agonists act prominently on the area postrema and on glucagon suppression. Combination studies test whether engaging both pathways produces additive effects, and research questions remain about the mechanisms behind the combination's tolerability profile.

For comparison with the incretin class, see GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptor pharmacology compared. The semaglutide half of the combination is covered in semaglutide in the US, and the cagrilintide sourcing guide is cagrilintide in the US.

• ·Cagrilintide is acylated, so it binds albumin. As with other lipidated peptides, report the albumin concentration in assay media.
• ·Use measured content from the certificate, not the label mass, for concentration calculations. The Peptide Calculator turns that measured mass into a stock concentration and molarity.

Each cagrilintide lot is tested by Janoshik Analytical before sale, and the certificate is published as the laboratory reported it, verifiable on Janoshik's own site. The current certificates are below, with a switch for each strength. See all reports on our certificates of analysis page.

Published Certificate

Select strength

5mg10mg

Batch

CAG-CA-26A-01

Purity (HPLC)

99.446%

Measured content

5.62 mglabeled 5 mg

Laboratory

Janoshik

Verify on the lab’s own databaseAll published certificates

Available at Eppix Labs

Cagrilintide

5mg · 10mg

Every batch tested by an independent laboratory, with the certificate published before sale.

From $99.99 USDIn stock