Chemical identity
| Designation | Cagrilintide |
|---|---|
| CAS number | 1415456-99-3 |
| Molecular formula | C194H312N54O59S2 |
| Molecular weight | 4409 g/mol |
| Chain | Analogue of the 37-residue hormone amylin, acylated |
| Cartridge strength | 10 mg per cartridge |
| Concentration | 3.33 mg/ml |
| Presentation | Pre-mixed solution, sealed 3 ml cartridge |
| Storage | 2–8 °C, protect from light, do not freeze |
Identifiers verified against PubChem in both directions — name to compound record, then each CAS number back again — and, where the sequence is of standard residues, cross-checked by recomputing the molecular weight from the sequence. No purity, HPLC or certificate-of-analysis figure is stated, because no supplier data supports one.
What cagrilintide is
Cagrilintide is a synthetic, long-acting analogue of amylin — a peptide hormone co-secreted with insulin by pancreatic beta cells. Native human amylin is a 37-residue peptide, and it is a difficult molecule to work with: it aggregates readily into insoluble fibrils, which is one reason a stable analogue was engineered rather than the native sequence being used directly.
The analogue's design addresses both aggregation and persistence. Substitutions in the sequence reduce the tendency to form fibrils, and a fatty-acid chain attached to the peptide allows reversible binding to serum albumin, which extends how long the molecule remains available. Both are the same class of engineering choice found in tirzepatide, applied to a different receptor family.
It is an investigational compound. It holds no UK marketing authorisation, no licensed UK medicine contains it, and its development programme has been reported as continuing. Much of the published interest concerns it in combination with a GLP-1 receptor agonist, which is why it is often encountered alongside the incretin analogues despite acting elsewhere.
A different receptor family
This is the point most often lost. Cagrilintide does not act at the GLP-1, GIP or glucagon receptors. It acts at the amylin receptors — receptor complexes formed when the calcitonin receptor pairs with one of three receptor activity-modifying proteins, giving the AMY1, AMY2 and AMY3 subtypes — and at the calcitonin receptor itself.
Because the amylin receptors are built from the calcitonin receptor plus an accessory protein, selectivity between amylin and calcitonin receptors is a genuine experimental question rather than a given, and it is one of the things characterisation work measures. Referring to cagrilintide as a "calcitonin receptor agonist" and as an "amylin analogue" is not a contradiction; both descriptions are accurate and they describe the same pharmacology from different ends.
The practical consequence for anyone comparing compounds: cagrilintide is not an alternative to an incretin agonist in any pharmacological sense. It is a different mechanism that happens to be studied in overlapping contexts. Tirzepatide versus cagrilintide sets out the distinction in full.
What is studied in vitro
Characterisation work centres on the receptor complexes. Cells are engineered to express the calcitonin receptor with or without each receptor activity-modifying protein, giving a panel of amylin receptor subtypes plus the bare calcitonin receptor, and the compound is assayed against each — typically by cyclic AMP accumulation across a concentration range. The resulting profile describes which subtypes the molecule prefers and by how much.
Aggregation behaviour is a second strand, and one specific to this family. Because native amylin fibrillises, assays that track the formation of ordered aggregates over time are used to compare analogues, and the results bear directly on whether a sequence is workable as a solution formulation at all. Stability in the presence of enzyme preparations, and albumin-binding measurements, complete the usual picture.
Combination work in cell systems — an amylin receptor agonist alongside a GLP-1 receptor agonist, in preparations expressing both — is also common, since the pairing is what much of the published attention concerns.
How cagrilintide is supplied in the UK
Peptide Global holds UK stock and supplies it as the Cagrilintide Pen 10 mg: 10 mg of cagrilintide pre-mixed in a sealed 3 ml cartridge at 3.33 mg/ml, in a dial-dosing pen device, with no reconstitution step.
At 3.33 mg/ml this is the least concentrated cartridge in the catalogue by a wide margin — a sixth of the tirzepatide pen's 20 mg/ml, and a tenth of the GHK-Cu pen's 33.33 mg/ml. That is a deliberate consequence of the fill: the same 3 ml volume holds 10 mg rather than 60 mg. Anyone comparing pens on cost should compare cost per milligram rather than per unit, for exactly this reason; the point is developed in what to check before ordering.
Storage is 2–8 °C, protected from light, not frozen, for as long as the cartridge is held. See storage and handling.
Common questions
What is cagrilintide?
A synthetic long-acting analogue of the pancreatic hormone amylin, engineered to resist the fibril formation native amylin is prone to and to bind reversibly to albumin so that it persists longer. It acts at the amylin receptors and at the calcitonin receptor.
Is cagrilintide a GLP-1 agonist?
No. It acts at the amylin receptors — calcitonin receptor complexes formed with receptor activity-modifying proteins — and at the calcitonin receptor itself. It has no activity at the GLP-1, GIP or glucagon receptors, and it is not an alternative to an incretin agonist in pharmacological terms.
Why is cagrilintide described as both an amylin analogue and a calcitonin receptor agonist?
Because the amylin receptors are built from the calcitonin receptor plus an accessory protein, so the two descriptions cover the same pharmacology from different ends. Selectivity between the amylin subtypes and the bare calcitonin receptor is a measurable property rather than a given.
Is cagrilintide legal in the UK?
Cagrilintide holds no UK marketing authorisation and no licensed UK medicine contains it — it is an investigational compound, and the absence is a matter of public record on the MHRA register. Material supplied for in-vitro laboratory research sits outside the medicines framework rather than being prohibited by it. Nothing here is legal advice.
What strength is the Cagrilintide Pen?
10 mg in a 3 ml cartridge, giving 3.33 mg/ml — the lowest concentration in the catalogue, because the same cartridge volume carries a smaller mass than the other pens.
Products described in this guide
Supplied for laboratory research use only. UK delivery is free on every order, tracked as standard.
Continue reading
Research use only
Every compound named on this page is supplied by Peptide Global strictly for laboratory research use only. Nothing here is for human or veterinary use. These are not foods, supplements or cosmetics, and they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Nothing on this page is medical, veterinary or legal advice, and no part of it describes administration to a person or an animal.
Purchasers are responsible for their own compliance with applicable law and with the requirements of their institution or ethics committee. At checkout, purchasers confirm they are a qualified researcher aged 18 or over and that they accept the Research-Use-Only Policy and Terms & Conditions.
