What Is Cagrilintide? Dosage, Half-Life & How to Track It
Also known as: NNC0174-0833 · CagriSema (combo w/ semaglutide) · Amylin analog
Cagrilintide is a long-acting amylin analog — a different hormone class than GLP-1 drugs — that promotes satiety and slows gastric emptying through its own receptor pathway. Its ~7-day half-life supports once-weekly dosing, typically titrated from 0.6 mg up to a 4.5 mg maintenance dose by about week 7. It’s best known as the amylin half of CagriSema (paired with semaglutide); used alone it remains investigational. Educational information only.
What cagrilintide is and how it works
Cagrilintide is a synthetic, acylated (fat-conjugated) version of amylin, a hormone your pancreas co-releases with insulin after eating. Amylin and GLP-1 are different systems that both land on appetite — amylin acts mainly through central amylin receptors in the brainstem to signal fullness and slow gastric emptying, while GLP-1 drugs work more through the gut-brain incretin axis.
That mechanistic difference is why cagrilintide is most often discussed as an add-on to a GLP-1 rather than a standalone drug. Novo Nordisk’s combination product, CagriSema (cagrilintide + semaglutide), pairs the two pathways and has shown weight loss exceeding semaglutide alone in trials. The acylation — attaching a fatty-acid chain — is the same trick semaglutide uses to bind albumin and stretch its half-life to weekly dosing.
Cagrilintide alone is not yet FDA-approved; approval efforts are centered on the CagriSema combination. Treat solo dosing information as investigational and community-derived.
Typical dosing & reconstitution
Titration mirrors the GLP-1 pattern — start low, step every couple of weeks, land on a maintenance dose:
- Weeks 1–2: 0.6 mg
- Weeks 3–4: 1.2 mg
- Weeks 5–6: 2.4 mg
- Weeks 7+: 4.5 mg (maintenance)
| Vial | BAC water | Concentration | 1 unit (U-100) ≈ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | 3 mL | 1.67 mg/mL | 16.7 mcg |
| 10 mg | 3 mL | 3.33 mg/mL | 33.3 mcg |
At 3.33 mg/mL, the 4.5 mg maintenance dose is 135 units — well over a standard 1 mL insulin syringe, so it’s typically drawn with a 3 mL Luer-lock syringe instead. The calculator flags exactly when a dose crosses that line.
Half-life & what it means for frequency
Cagrilintide’s half-life is roughly 7 days, essentially matching semaglutide — which is precisely why the two combine cleanly into a single once-weekly CagriSema injection rather than needing separate schedules.
As with any weekly compound in this range, levels accumulate over the first several weeks of a new dose before reaching steady state, so week 1 doesn’t predict week 4. That also means missed or early doses are fairly forgiving — there’s no sharp cliff the way there would be with a short-half-life peptide.
What to track & common side effects
Side effects are the familiar GLP-class profile — nausea, constipation, and other GI symptoms — generally dose-dependent and heaviest right after a step-up, same as semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Because it’s usually run alongside a GLP-1, the practical tracking problem is which compound did what — if nausea shows up after adding cagrilintide to an existing sema or tirz regimen, logging both doses separately is the only way to tell which one to hold. Trend weight and waist together with dose history rather than day-to-day scale noise.
How to track Cagrilintide in Stackeddd
Log cagrilintide’s weekly dose separately from any GLP-1 you’re running alongside it, so a rough week points at the right compound to hold. Trend weight and waist rather than single readings, and use the reconstitution math up front — a maintenance dose that overflows a standard syringe is a common surprise.
Model it yourself · free, no account
Blood-Level Simulator
Model it yourself: pick cagrilintide, set your weekly dose, and watch levels build toward steady state — the same pharmacokinetic engine that runs inside the app.
Related compounds
Related reading: Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide: half-life, cadence, and what to track · Peptide reconstitution math: how much BAC water to add
Frequently asked questions
What is cagrilintide used for?
It’s a long-acting amylin analog studied for weight management, most often as the amylin half of CagriSema (paired with semaglutide). Alone, it promotes satiety and slows gastric emptying through amylin receptors rather than the GLP-1 pathway.
What is the half-life of cagrilintide?
About 7 days, close to semaglutide’s — which is why the two pair into a single once-weekly CagriSema injection instead of needing separate schedules.
How is cagrilintide dosed?
A typical titration runs 0.6 mg for two weeks, then 1.2, 2.4, and up to a 4.5 mg maintenance dose by around week 7 — once weekly, subcutaneous.
Is cagrilintide the same as CagriSema?
No — cagrilintide is the amylin-analog half. CagriSema is Novo Nordisk’s combination product that pairs cagrilintide with semaglutide in one weekly injection; cagrilintide by itself is not an approved standalone drug.
This is educational information, not medical advice. Doses and protocols above reflect published references and community practice — protocol decisions belong with your prescribing physician. Generic names used throughout. How this reference is built & how the AI is tested →
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