The short answer
Cagrilintide produced weight loss in this phase 2 trial. It mimics amylin, a hormone involved in fullness; it is not itself a GLP-1 receptor agonist.
Who took part?
The trial enrolled 706 adults without diabetes who had obesity, or overweight with hypertension or abnormal blood lipids. Researchers compared five weekly cagrilintide doses, daily liraglutide 3 mg and placebo over 26 weeks.
Percent of starting weight; trial-product estimand
Original visual based on the study.
| Group or measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Cagrilintide 4.5 mg | 10.8% |
| Liraglutide 3 mg | 9.0% |
| Placebo | 3.0% |
What changed?
In the analysis estimating outcomes if participants adhered to treatment:
Cagrilintide groups averaged 6.0–10.8% weight loss across doses.
Placebo averaged 3.0%.
Cagrilintide 4.5 mg averaged 10.8%, compared with 9.0% for liraglutide 3 mg.
The dose-group range is not a range of individual responses.
What were the trade-offs?
Digestive adverse events affected 41–63% across cagrilintide groups versus 32% with placebo. Injection-site reactions also occurred.
The useful takeaway
This short trial helped establish the rationale for studying amylin-based weight treatments. Participants and investigators knew which active treatment was used. It did not test the CagriSema combination or establish long-term outcomes.
Sources
Lau and colleagues, The Lancet, 2021. Funded by Novo Nordisk.