Cagrilintide: what is a long-acting amylin analogue?

What is amylin and why was it modified?

Native human amylin aggregates readily into amyloid fibrils, which makes it hard to formulate and handle. Analogue programmes swap in fibril-breaking residues and add half-life extension. Recent reviews trace this line from physiology to long-acting analogues.

Source: The story of amylin: from physiology to therapy, Nat Metab 2026 (PubMed 41708975); Long-acting amylin-related peptides as therapies for obesity and type 2 diabetes, Peptides 2026 (PubMed 41747885)

How was cagrilintide designed?

The 2021 J Med Chem paper describes cagrilintide's development: the backbone was optimised for chemical and physical stability, and a fatty diacid side chain was added for albumin binding. It acts at amylin receptors (calcitonin receptor plus RAMP) and at the calcitonin receptor itself.

Source: Development of Cagrilintide, a Long-Acting Amylin Analogue, J Med Chem 2021 (PubMed 34288673)

What do structural studies show about binding?

A 2025 cryo-EM and dynamics study compared cagrilintide bound to calcitonin and amylin receptors and described the features that explain its non-selective profile.

Source: Structural and dynamic features of cagrilintide binding to calcitonin and amylin receptors, Nat Commun 2025 (PubMed 40204768)

What are its identity data?

• Formula (PubChem): C194H312N54O59S2
• MW (PubChem): 4409.0 g/mol
• Disulfide: one intramolecular bridge in the N-terminal ring
• Lipidation: N-terminal fatty diacid

Source: PubChem CID 171397054: Cagrilintide

Sourcing note

Sable lists Cagrilintide: 5 mg at £28.98; 10 mg at £43.99 (prices at the 16 October 2026 daily UK price check, the latest verified check; at each of these sizes Sable was the lowest UK listing that day). Lowest UK price guaranteed, confirmed by daily price checks.

Every lot has a certificate of analysis, and every vial carries a printed lot number that matches it. Supplied for laboratory research use only.

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