Cagrilintide dosage in studies: doses, timing and reconstitution
Studies of cagrilintide alone used once-weekly subcutaneous doses from 0.16 mg to 4.5 mg, and single doses of 0.6 or 0.9 mg in pharmacokinetic work. The CagriSema trials used cagrilintide 2.4 mg with semaglutide 2.4 mg, and some also tested 1.0 mg of each, after a dose-escalation period. These are reported study doses only.
What doses of cagrilintide have studies used? On its own, the phase 2 dose-finding trial by Lau et al. compared five once-weekly subcutaneous doses: 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4 and 4.5 mg. Treatment lasted 26 weeks, including a dose-escalation period of up to 6 weeks, and the reported weight reductions ranged from 6.0% to 10.8% across the doses, with 10.8% at 4.5 mg. The thorough QT study by Gabe et al. also escalated once-weekly cagrilintide to 4.5 mg, and the kidney and liver impairment studies by Nielsen et al. gave a single dose of 0.6 mg or 0.9 mg respectively.
What doses were used for CagriSema? The phase 1b study by Enebo et al. paired semaglutide 2.4 mg with cagrilintide at 0.16, 0.30, 0.60, 1.2, 2.4 or 4.5 mg, co-escalating both in 4-week steps over 16 weeks and then holding the target dose for 4 weeks. Every phase 2 and phase 3 CagriSema trial on file then settled on cagrilintide 2.4 mg with semaglutide 2.4 mg once weekly. REIMAGINE 1, 2 and 3 added a lower pairing of 1.0 mg of each. REDEFINE 5 and the phase 2 diabetes trial describe the doses as escalated to 2.4 mg, but their abstracts do not give the escalation schedule.
How long did the studies run? The monotherapy trial treated for 26 weeks. The CagriSema trials ran 32 weeks (phase 2 in type 2 diabetes), 40 weeks (REIMAGINE 1 and 3) or 68 weeks (REDEFINE 1, 2 and 5, and REIMAGINE 2). Single-dose pharmacokinetic studies followed participants for 36 to 39 days.
A dose that worked in combination with semaglutide says nothing direct about cagrilintide alone, and the reverse is also true. The 2.4 mg figure is the trials' combination dose, and the monotherapy data on file stop at 26 weeks.
For laboratory work, the site's calculator handles reconstitution arithmetic. As a neutral maths default it uses 1 mL of bacteriostatic water per 5 mg with a 2 mL minimum, so 2 mL for both the 5 mg and 10 mg vials. This is arithmetic only, not a dose.
Doses used by each cited study
| Study | Model | Dose | Frequency | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lau DCW et al. 2021 | Human, phase 2 RCT, cagrilintide alone (n=906) | 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4 or 4.5 mg subcutaneous | Once weekly | 26 weeks, including up to 6 weeks escalation |
| Gabe MBN et al. 2024 | Human, thorough QT study, cagrilintide alone (n=105) | Escalated to 4.5 mg subcutaneous | Once weekly | Not stated in the abstract |
| PMID 42228334 | Human, phase 1, cagrilintide alone, renal (n=33) and hepatic (n=32) impairment | 0.6 mg (renal study) or 0.9 mg (hepatic study) | Single dose | Assessed to day 36 (renal) or day 39 (hepatic) |
| Enebo LB et al. 2021 | Human, phase 1b RCT, cagrilintide + semaglutide 2.4 mg (n=96) | Cagrilintide 0.16, 0.30, 0.60, 1.2, 2.4 or 4.5 mg with semaglutide 2.4 mg | Once weekly, co-escalated in 4-week intervals | 16 weeks escalation + 4 weeks at target dose |
| Frias JP et al. 2023 | Human, phase 2 RCT, CagriSema vs components, type 2 diabetes (n=92) | Each agent escalated to 2.4 mg | Once weekly | 32 weeks |
| Garvey WT et al. 2025 | Human, phase 3a RCT (REDEFINE 1), CagriSema (n=3417) | Cagrilintide 2.4 mg + semaglutide 2.4 mg; cagrilintide 2.4 mg alone arm | Once weekly | 68 weeks |
| Davies MJ et al. 2025 | Human, phase 3a RCT (REDEFINE 2), CagriSema, type 2 diabetes (n=1206) | Cagrilintide 2.4 mg + semaglutide 2.4 mg | Once weekly | 68 weeks |
| PMID 42251859 | Human, phase 3 RCT (REIMAGINE 2), CagriSema vs components, type 2 diabetes (n=2713) | 2.4 mg + 2.4 mg or 1.0 mg + 1.0 mg; cagrilintide 2.4 mg alone arm | Once weekly, subcutaneous | 68 weeks |
| Rosenstock J et al. 2026 | Human, phase 3a RCT (REIMAGINE 3), CagriSema with basal insulin (n=274) | 2.4 mg + 2.4 mg or 1.0 mg + 1.0 mg | Once weekly, subcutaneous | 40 weeks |
| PMID 42251860 | Human, phase 3a RCT (REIMAGINE 1), CagriSema, type 2 diabetes (n=189) | 2.4 mg + 2.4 mg or 1.0 mg + 1.0 mg | Once weekly, subcutaneous | 40 weeks |
This table reports what each study used. It is not a recommendation or an instruction.
What these doses don't tell you
The abstracts report dose levels and durations but rarely the full escalation schedule. None of the studies used a research-grade compound, and none compared cagrilintide alone with CagriSema at matched doses beyond the 2.4 mg arms.
Vial maths
| Vial | BAC water | Concentration | Per 0.01 mL (1 unit, U-100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | 1 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 mcg |
| 5 mg | 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 25 mcg |
| 5 mg | 3 mL | 1.667 mg/mL | 16.7 mcg |
| 10 mg | 1 mL | 10 mg/mL | 100 mcg |
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 mcg |
| 10 mg | 3 mL | 3.333 mg/mL | 33.3 mcg |