Amycretin vs cagrilintide

Amycretin (renamed zenagamtide) and cagrilintide are investigational Novo Nordisk peptides that both act on amylin receptors ^1,2. Cagrilintide is an amylin analogue, while amycretin is a single molecule that also activates the GLP-1 receptor, and 2026 reports describe it as acting on calcitonin receptors as well ^1,3. Neither had a Drugs@FDA application record on 24 October 2026 ^4,5,6, and no trial comparing them directly was identified ^7.

Amycretin

Investigational

Cagrilintide

Investigational

Side by side

Field	Amycretin	Cagrilintide
Class	Unimolecular GLP-1, amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist (investigational) ^1,8	Long-acting amylin analogue; amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist (investigational) ^2,9
Origin and structure	Single peptide combining GLP-1 and amylin activity, acylated with a C18 diacid-based side chain at lysine 37 of the GLP-1 part for albumin binding ¹⁰	Stable, lipidated analogue of the pancreatic hormone amylin ³
Proposed mechanism	Activated human, mouse and rat GLP-1, amylin and calcitonin receptors in cell systems; reached brain areas that regulate food intake in mice ¹¹	Amylin-like binding at amylin receptors 1 to 3 and the calcitonin receptor ^9; in mice, depended on amylin receptors 1 and 3 ¹²
Half-life	Geometric mean 88.1 hours after a single subcutaneous dose in people with normal kidney function (94.0 to 112.8 hours with renal impairment) ¹⁰	159 to 195 hours in a phase 1b trial with co-administered semaglutide ¹³
Highest human trial phase	Phase 3 registered under the name zenagamtide (e.g. AMAZE 7, recruiting) ^14; phase 2 published ^1,8	Phase 3 (comparator arm and combination trials) ^7,15
FDA status	Not approved; no Drugs@FDA record under either name as of 24 October 2026 ^4,5	Not approved; no Drugs@FDA record as of 24 October 2026 ⁶
Published human outcomes	Phase 1b/2a (subcutaneous): body-weight change of -9.7% to -24.3% across escalation parts vs -1.1% to +2.3% with placebo ^16; phase 2 type 2 diabetes: HbA1c change of -0.9% to -1.7% (subcutaneous) and -0.9% to -1.4% (oral) ^1,8	Phase 2 obesity: -6.0% to -10.8% vs -3.0% with placebo at 26 weeks ^2; phase 2 type 2 diabetes: -0.9 percentage points HbA1c and -8.1% body weight at 32 weeks ¹⁷
Safety signals	Mostly gastrointestinal, mild to moderate events; many participants withdrew from the phase 1b/2a study, mostly for reasons unrelated to adverse events ^16; serious adverse events in 8% of the subcutaneous type 2 diabetes trial ¹	Gastrointestinal events (nausea 20% to 47% vs 18%) and administration-site reactions ^2; higher serious adverse event risk than semaglutide in a meta-analysis ¹⁸
WADA status	Not named on the 2026 Prohibited List; class S0 covers drugs under clinical development with no current approval by any governmental health authority ¹⁹	Not named on the 2026 Prohibited List; same S0 provision applies to unapproved substances ¹⁹
Who funded the evidence	Novo Nordisk ^1,16,20	Novo Nordisk ^2,13

Amycretin: what the data says

Amycretin has been studied as an oral tablet and a subcutaneous injection, and is now developed under the name zenagamtide ^1,16,20.

In a phase 1b/2a study in 125 people with overweight or obesity (human data), body-weight change in the four escalation parts ranged from -9.7% to -24.3% vs -1.1% to +2.3% with placebo ¹⁶.
In a 36-week phase 2 trial in 262 people with type 2 diabetes (human data), HbA1c fell by 0.9% to 1.7% across six doses, with mostly mild to moderate gastrointestinal events ¹.
In diet-induced obese rats (animal data), 21 days of treatment reduced energy intake by 47% and body weight by 18% relative to vehicle ¹¹.

Cagrilintide: what the data says

Cagrilintide has been studied alone and with semaglutide in trials funded by Novo Nordisk ^2,15.

In a 26-week phase 2 trial (human data), body-weight change ranged from -6.0% to -10.8% across five doses vs -3.0% with placebo ².
In a 32-week phase 2 trial in type 2 diabetes (human data), cagrilintide alone changed HbA1c by -0.9 percentage points and body weight by -8.1% ¹⁷.
In REDEFINE 1 (human data), cagrilintide combined with semaglutide changed body weight by -20.4% vs -3.0% with placebo at 68 weeks ¹⁵.

Key research differences

Molecule design: amycretin is one molecule with both GLP-1 and amylin activity, whereas cagrilintide provides amylin activity alone and is paired with semaglutide as a separate drug in CagriSema ^15,16.
Formulations studied: amycretin has been tested both orally and by subcutaneous injection, whereas the cagrilintide trials reviewed used once-weekly subcutaneous injection ^2,8,20.
Half-life: 88.1 hours for a single amycretin dose vs 159 to 195 hours for cagrilintide, in studies of different design ^10,13.
Name: amycretin was renamed zenagamtide, and its phase 3 trials are registered under that name ^1,14.

Where the evidence is limited

No human trial comparing amycretin and cagrilintide was identified ^7. The early amycretin trials were small, single-centre or dose-finding studies with high withdrawal in at least one, and their percentages come from escalation parts of different lengths ^16. Both programmes are funded by the same company, Novo Nordisk ^2,16.

Frequently asked questions

Is amycretin the same as CagriSema?

No. CagriSema is two separate drugs, cagrilintide and semaglutide, given together, whereas amycretin is a single molecule designed to activate both GLP-1 and amylin receptors ^15,16.

Does amycretin lead to more body-weight change than cagrilintide?

That has not been tested. No head-to-head trial was identified, and the published trials differ in design, duration and population ^2,7,16.

What is zenagamtide?

Zenagamtide is the new name for amycretin used in 2026 phase 2 publications and phase 3 registrations ^1,14.

References

For research use only. Not for human or veterinary use. Not a drug, food, or dietary supplement. This page compares published research and is not medical advice or a recommendation.