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Aminoscope
Head-to-head

Amycretin vs Cagrilintide

Two Novo Nordisk amylin plays at opposite ends of the pipeline: one folds amylin and GLP-1 into a single molecule, the other is amylin alone.

By Julian RothResearch & dataUpdated October 2026

Short answer

Amycretin and cagrilintide are both marketed for weight loss and both have human clinical data, so the difference is in how they work and what their trials found. The headline human result for amycretin is mean weight loss of about 24.3% at 36 weeks on 60 mg versus roughly 1% on placebo, phase 1b/2a study (125 participants).

Amycretin

Clinical data

A unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor co-agonist, oral and subcutaneous versions in early trials; a promising Phase 1/2 signal but still years from an approval decision.

Full Amycretin evidence review

Cagrilintide

Clinical data

A long-acting amylin analog with real Phase 2 monotherapy weight-loss data; its main clinical role is as the amylin half of CagriSema, and on its own it remains investigational.

Full Cagrilintide evidence review

Amycretin vs Cagrilintide: head to head

FDA status / approved use

Amycretin

Investigational, in Phase 3 for obesity and type 2 diabetes; not approved anywhere

Cagrilintide

Investigational and not approved on its own; FDA decision on the CagriSema combination expected fourth quarter 2026
Marketed for

Amycretin

Weight loss

Cagrilintide

Weight loss
Outcome areas

Amycretin

Weight loss / appetite

Cagrilintide

Weight loss / appetite
Evidence grade

Amycretin

Clinical data

Cagrilintide

Clinical data
How it works

Amycretin

Single molecule that activates both GLP-1 and amylin receptors

Cagrilintide

Long-acting amylin analog; slows stomach emptying and signals fullness through the hindbrain
Route and dosing

Amycretin

Subcutaneous injection once weekly; an oral form is also being tested

Cagrilintide

Subcutaneous injection, once weekly
Headline human result

Amycretin

Mean weight loss of about 24.3% at 36 weeks on 60 mg versus roughly 1% on placebo, phase 1b/2a study (125 participants)

Cagrilintide

6.0% to 10.8% weight loss vs 3.0% on placebo over 26 weeks in a 2021 Phase 2 trial of 906 adults
Strongest evidence

Amycretin

First-in-human Phase 1b/2a, 2025Amycretin evidence reviewPubMed 40550231

Cagrilintide

Phase 2 monotherapy RCT, Lancet 2021Cagrilintide evidence reviewPubMed 34798060
Key safety signal

Amycretin

Gastrointestinal side effects, mostly mild to moderate; high dropout and no long-term data

Cagrilintide

Nausea-led gastrointestinal side effects that rise with dose
How it is obtained

Amycretin

Legitimately available only inside clinical trials; vials sold online are gray-market research chemicals

Cagrilintide

Legitimately available only inside clinical trials; vials sold online are gray-market research chemicals

marks a row where the two differ. “Not established” marks a cell the available evidence does not answer. Evidence grades come from our evidence matrix, which grades each molecule on the human data for the use it is marketed for.

Clinical data:
Tested in humans — but investigational, discontinued, or proven only on a surrogate marker (not the marketed outcome).

Our verdict

Both are investigational and neither can be prescribed. Amycretin (INN zenagamtide) is a unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor co-agonist and posted much the larger number — about 24.3% mean weight loss at 36 weeks on 60 mg subcutaneous versus roughly 1% on placebo — but that came from a phase 1b/2a study in only 125 people, which is a dose-finding and safety trial rather than an efficacy result, and its oral phase 1 measured weight only as an exploratory endpoint over 12 weeks. Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analog and nothing else; its 26-week phase 2 produced dose-dependent weight loss that exceeded placebo and, at top doses, beat a liraglutide comparator — a more mature standalone record, but a smaller effect. The framing that matters is that cagrilintide’s main clinical role is as the amylin half of CagriSema rather than a monotherapy, while amycretin’s headline is early enough that a phase 3 program will decide whether it means anything.

Amycretin fits if

You are tracking the unimolecular co-agonist approach and want the largest early signal, understanding that a 125-person phase 1b/2a is a starting point and not a result.

Cagrilintide fits if

You want the cleaner mechanistic question — what amylin does on its own, separate from GLP-1 — and the phase 2 monotherapy data that actually addresses it.

Amycretin vs Cagrilintide: common questions

Is either amycretin or cagrilintide FDA-approved?
No. Amycretin is investigational, in Phase 3 for obesity and type 2 diabetes; not approved anywhere. Cagrilintide is investigational and not approved on its own; FDA decision on the CagriSema combination expected fourth quarter 2026.
Which has stronger human evidence, amycretin or cagrilintide?
Neither clearly. Both have human clinical data. The key source for amycretin is first-in-human Phase 1b/2a, 2025; for cagrilintide, it is phase 2 monotherapy RCT, Lancet 2021.
What are the main safety concerns with amycretin and cagrilintide?
For amycretin, watch for gastrointestinal side effects, mostly mild to moderate; high dropout and no long-term data. For cagrilintide, watch for nausea-led gastrointestinal side effects that rise with dose.

Key studies behind each

Amycretin

  1. Dahl K, Toubro S, Dey S, 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. PubMed 40550231
  2. Gasiorek A, Heydorn A, Gabery S, 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. PubMed 40550229
  3. Kuhre RE, Ballarín-González B, Brand CL, 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. PubMed 40706446

Cagrilintide

  1. Hay DL, Chen S, Lutz TA, et al. (2015). Amylin: Pharmacology, Physiology, and Clinical Potential. Pharmacol Rev. PubMed 26071095
  2. Boyle CN, Lutz TA, Le Foll C. (2018). Amylin - Its role in the homeostatic and hedonic control of eating and recent developments of amylin analogs to treat obesity. Mol Metab. PubMed 29203236
  3. Lau DCW, Erichsen L, Francisco AM, et al. (2021). Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management in people with overweight and obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lancet. PubMed 34798060
  4. Enebo LB, Berthelsen KK, Kankam M, et al. (2021). Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of concomitant administration of multiple doses of cagrilintide with semaglutide 2.4 mg for weight management: a randomised, controlled, phase 1b trial. Lancet. PubMed 33894838

The full evidence reviews

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