Amycretin vs CagriSema

Side by side

Amycretin Medium and CagriSema High pursue the same idea: GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide reduce appetite, and amylin, a hormone released with insulin, adds a separate fullness signal. CagriSema combines two finished drugs, cagrilintide, an amylin analogue, and semaglutide, each at 2.4 mg, in one weekly injection ¹. Amycretin is a single molecule: in laboratory tests it activated human GLP-1, amylin and calcitonin receptors, and in obese rats 21 days of treatment cut food intake by 47% and body weight by 18% ². The table is read from our encyclopedia entries.

Amycretin: early but striking

Amycretin has been tested two ways. As a weekly injection, in a phase 1b/2a trial of 125 adults, doses were escalated to maintenance levels of 1.25 to 60 mg. Weight changed by -24.3% against -1.1% on placebo at 60 mg and by -22.0% against +1.9% at 20 mg after 36 weeks, and by -16.2% at 5 mg after 28 weeks; gastrointestinal events were the most common and mostly mild to moderate ³. As a daily tablet, the first trial in 144 adults tested single doses, ten-day courses and twelve-week escalations up to two 50 mg tablets a day; adverse events affected 62%, all mild or moderate and commoner at higher doses ⁴. A 2026 review reports weight loss of up to 13.1% on the tablet over 12 weeks ⁵.

These are small, early trials, with short durations and doses still being explored. They show what the molecule can do, not what a phase 3 trial will find.

CagriSema: phase 3 and a filing

CagriSema's evidence is far larger. In REDEFINE 1, 3,417 adults without diabetes received CagriSema, semaglutide alone, cagrilintide alone or placebo for 68 weeks. Counting everyone randomised, weight fell 20.4% on CagriSema against 3.0% on placebo; gastrointestinal events affected 79.6% against 39.9%, mostly transient and mild to moderate ¹. In REDEFINE 2, in 1,206 adults with type 2 diabetes, the loss was 13.7% against 3.4% ⁶.

Novo Nordisk filed CagriSema with the FDA in December 2025 ⁷. In February 2026 the company reported that it had lost its head-to-head trial against Lilly's tirzepatide ⁸. As of October 2, 2026 we found no announced FDA decision.

Why the numbers cannot be lined up

It is tempting to read 24.3% against 20.4% as amycretin winning. The comparison does not hold. The amycretin figure comes from one dose arm of a trial of 125 people, over 36 weeks; the CagriSema figure comes from a phase 3 trial of 3,417 people, counting everyone randomised whether or not they kept taking the drug, over 68 weeks ^{3 1}. Phase 3 trials usually report smaller effects than early trials of the same drug, because they enrol more varied people, last longer and count those who stop. Until amycretin completes phase 3, the honest statement is that its early results are at least as large as CagriSema's, not that it is better.

There are also design trade-offs. One molecule means one manufacturing process and, potentially, a tablet, which amycretin has already been tested as; two molecules let each component's dose be set separately, which CagriSema's phase 3 programme did not need to do because it used a fixed 2.4/2.4 mg combination ^{1 4}.

Where each stands (as of October 2, 2026)

Neither is approved anywhere. CagriSema is under FDA review following its December 2025 filing, with a decision expected in late 2026 according to reports at the time ^{7 8}. Amycretin is investigational; Drugs@FDA held no application and EMA's register had no entry when we checked on September 30, 2026 ⁷. Both are being developed by Novo Nordisk, which means they may end up as successive products rather than direct competitors. Products sold online under either name are not the trial drugs. Our guide to the amylin drugs places both alongside petrelintide and eloralintide.

How the differences add up

CagriSema is the proven option of the two, with phase 3 results, a filing and a known side-effect profile, and also the one that has already lost a head-to-head trial against tirzepatide. Amycretin is the more ambitious design, a single molecule that could come as a tablet, with early results that are at least as large, but no phase 3 data yet. Doses on this page are those studied in trials, not recommendations.

Frequently asked questions

Is amycretin better than CagriSema?

It is too early to say. Amycretin's 24.3% weight loss at 36 weeks came from a 125-person early trial; CagriSema's 20.4% at 68 weeks came from a 3,417-person phase 3 trial counting everyone randomised. No trial has compared them.

What is the difference between amycretin and CagriSema?

CagriSema is two drugs, cagrilintide and semaglutide, injected together; amycretin is one molecule that acts on both GLP-1 and amylin receptors, tested as a weekly injection and as a daily tablet.

When will amycretin be available?

As of October 2, 2026 it is investigational, with no application filed at the FDA or EMA when we checked on September 30, 2026.

Related on Grey Peptides

• Amycretin
• CagriSema
• Amylin drugs explained

Sources

1. Garvey, W. T., et al. (2025). Coadministered Cagrilintide and Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. N Engl J Med, 393(7), 635-647. PMID: 40544433
2. Kuhre, R. E., et al. (2025). The effect of amycretin, a unimolecular glucagon-like peptide-1 and amylin receptor agonist, on body weight and metabolic dysfunction in mice and rats. EBioMedicine, 118, 105862. PMID: 40706446
3. Dahl, K., et al. (2025). Amycretin, a novel, unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist administered subcutaneously: results from a phase 1b/2a randomised controlled study. Lancet, 406(10499), 149-162. PMID: 40550231
4. Gasiorek, A., et al. (2025). Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the first-in-class GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist, amycretin: a first-in-human, phase 1, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet, 406(10499), 135-148. PMID: 40550229
5. Fu, L., et al. (2026). Amycretin in obesity: Mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and future perspectives. Metabolism, 179, 156594. PMID: 41850421
6. Davies, M. J., et al. (2025). Cagrilintide-Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med, 393(7), 648-659. PMID: 40544432
7. Grey Peptides dataset records for both compounds (status, half-life and studied doses as sourced on each entry); read October 2, 2026.
8. Clinical Trials Arena. Novo Nordisk's CagriSema bested by Lilly's Zepbound in head-to-head trial, February 23, 2026; read October 2, 2026.

Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose in this guide names its source, an approved label or a published study. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose.