Amylin is the second pancreatic hormone (after insulin) that Novo Nordisk and a handful of competitors are now building obesity drugs around. Amylin agonists slow gastric emptying, suppress glucagon secretion, and produce satiety effects that compound the GLP-1 signal.
Lead programs covered on this site: Novo's cagrilintide (long-acting amylin analog) and the CagriSema combination, Lilly's eloralintide, Zealand Pharma's petrelintide, and earlier-stage amylin-receptor agonists from competitors. Amylin biology is increasingly framed as the next add-on layer to GLP-1 therapy after GIP and glucagon.
Stories here cover the REDEFINE readouts, eloralintide and petrelintide trial data, and the combination economics. See #cagrilintide, #cagrisema, and #petrelintide.
Celltrion presented preclinical data at TIDES Europe in Amsterdam for CT-G32/SCO-940, developed with Japan's Scohia Pharma, which acts on GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and amylin receptors, the Korea Herald reported on November 4. In diet-induced obese rats it produced more weight loss than retatrutide at the same dose, with less lean mass lost relative to total weight lost, though the company released no figures. Exposure data in primates support possible once-weekly dosing, and Celltrion plans to file an investigational new drug application with the FDA by February 2027.
Novo Nordisk presented post hoc analyses of its Phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial at The Menopause Society's annual meeting on October 20, 2026, Reuters reported: among 2,309 women with obesity or overweight, CagriSema 2.4 mg/2.4 mg was linked to 25% average weight loss at 68 weeks versus 3% on placebo, compared with 22.7% across the full trial of more than 3,400 adults. In 1,902 women grouped by menopause stage, average loss was 26.7% before menopause, 24.8% during perimenopause, and 23.1% after. Novo called the analyses hypothesis-generating; an FDA decision on CagriSema for weight management is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Researchers at the Danish Headache Center reported in Headache on October 13, 2026 that plasma amylin, a hormone closely related to the migraine signal CGRP, did not differ between 121 adults with migraine and 63 healthy controls (about 9 ng/mL in each group), across migraine subtypes, or between people who did and did not respond to 24 weeks of the CGRP-blocking antibody erenumab (Aimovig); levels also did not change during treatment. The authors concluded that blood amylin is not a useful migraine biomarker, though amylin drugs such as pramlintide can still trigger attacks.
Zealand Pharma reported topline results on October 7, 2026 from ZUPREME-2, a 28-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of once-weekly petrelintide in 220 U.S. adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes, who started with an average BMI of 36.3 and HbA1c of 8.0%. Across three dose groups, average weight fell 7.4% to 9.2% versus 2.0% on placebo, measured as if everyone had stayed on treatment, and HbA1c fell by up to 0.65 percentage points while it rose 0.23 points on placebo. Only 1.9% of people on petrelintide stopped because of stomach side effects, versus 1.7% on placebo; the drug, partnered with Roche, entered Phase 3 in September, and Zealand plans to present full results at a scientific meeting.
A University of Pennsylvania psychiatry team reported in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism on October 6, 2026 that neurons carrying the amylin-responsive calcitonin receptor in the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus, a brainstem region tied to reward and motivation, project to the ventral tegmental area in both mice and rats. Knocking down the receptor along that pathway weakened the appetite-suppressing effect of injected salmon calcitonin, which activates amylin receptors, and chemically switching the pathway on reduced food intake and body weight in mice. The findings come from rodents and help explain how amylin signaling reduces food intake.
Ascletis Pharma announced on Friday, October 2, 2026 preclinical data presented at EASD for ASC36_35FDC, a fixed-dose injection that combines its peptide amylin receptor agonist ASC36 with its peptide GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist ASC35. In non-human primates, the two components had half-lives of about 781 hours (33 days) and 721 hours (30 days), which the company says could support once-monthly and possibly once-quarterly dosing in people. In diet-induced obese rats, the combination cut body weight 24.8% at day 14 versus 12.5% for an eloralintide/tirzepatide combination and 16.8% for MET-233i/tirzepatide at the same dosing; the results come from animals only.
Lilly announced on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 Phase 2b results for EloraTZP, the amylin receptor agonist eloralintide given with tirzepatide as separate injections, in 367 adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes across 10 arms. At 48 weeks, under the efficacy estimand, eloralintide 9 mg plus tirzepatide 15 mg produced 23.3% weight loss versus 14.8% with tirzepatide 15 mg alone and 3.0% with placebo, and A1C fell 2.9 points versus 2.4 and 0.3 from a baseline near 8.1%. Discontinuation for adverse events was 10.8% to 27.0% with the combinations, 2.9% with tirzepatide alone, and 16.7% with placebo, and gastrointestinal events were more frequent on the combinations. Lilly plans to start Phase 3 trials of a co-formulated EloraTZP product by the end of 2026 with an adjusted dose-escalation schedule.
Zealand Pharma announced on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 that the Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial of petrelintide, its once-weekly human amylin analog partnered with Roche, has been published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, with more results due in an EASD oral presentation on September 30. The trial randomized 485 adults with obesity (mean BMI 36.7) to weekly petrelintide at 1.0 to 9.0 mg or placebo for 42 weeks, including dose escalation. Mean weight loss reached up to 10.7% versus 1.7% with placebo under the efficacy estimand and up to 10.2% versus 1.4% under the treatment-policy estimand; waist circumference fell up to 10.8 cm versus 4.3 cm, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein fell up to 41% versus 6%. Zealand said gastrointestinal side effects were mostly mild and at rates similar to placebo, with no vomiting and no GI-related discontinuations at the maximally effective dose.
Zealand Pharma announced on September 22, 2026 the start of the Phase 3a ZUPREME program for petrelintide, its once-weekly subcutaneous amylin analog partnered with Roche. The three placebo-controlled trials are ZUPREME-3 (about 3,900 people with overweight or obesity and at least one weight-related comorbidity, without type 2 diabetes), ZUPREME-4 (about 600 people with type 2 diabetes), and ZUPREME-5 (about 2,500 people with established cardiovascular disease). Each trial's primary endpoint is percentage change in body weight from baseline to week 64. A Phase 2 trial combining petrelintide with Roche's GLP-1/GIP agonist enicepatide (CT-388) is planned for the second half of 2026.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) disclosed on the July 29, 2026 Q2 2026 earnings call that VK3019, a novel dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist peptide for obesity, has entered Phase 1 clinical development. The candidate extends the company's obesity pipeline beyond the flagship VK2735 (dual GLP-1/GIP agonist). VK2735 status: Phase 3 VANQUISH program in obesity and obesity/type 2 diabetes is fully enrolled and advancing on track; oral VK2735 Phase 3 trials are slated to initiate in Q4 2026, positioning Viking as a potential first-to-market oral dual GLP-1/GIP agonist. A novel maintenance dosing study for VK2735 is nearing completion, with results expected later in Q3 2026 exploring less frequent dosing regimens. Q2 2026 financials: net loss widened to $128.1 million from $65.6 million in Q2 2025 on increased R&D spending, with $502 million in cash and short-term investments down from $706 million at year-end 2025. VK3019 is mechanistically distinct from VK2735: amylin signaling adds brainstem-mediated satiety (via the calcitonin receptor complex with RAMPs) on top of a calcitonin receptor agonism that has a longer development history in postmenopausal osteoporosis (Miacalcin) and Paget's disease. The amylin plus calcitonin combination extends the amylin-analog obesity category anchored by Novo Nordisk's cagrilintide (a component of CagriSema) and the Novo amycretin oral amylin monotherapy program.
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) named Danna Breen Vice President and head of obesity discovery on Monday July 13, 2026, following the departure of longtime scientific leader Kendra Bence. Bence had led internal medicine research across metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (formerly known as NASH) and obesity discovery at Pfizer's Kendall Square research site for more than a decade, and described the role as 'the absolute privilege of my career' when announcing her exit. Breen advanced through multiple roles at Pfizer including Research Associate, Fellow, Senior Principal Scientist, Principal Scientist, and Senior Scientist, working on novel obesity drug targets and research collaborations. The role transition arrives as Pfizer's obesity portfolio expands substantially: the monthly GLP-1 receptor agonist berobenatide (PF-3944) is advancing through 10 planned Phase 3 studies presented at ADA 2026 in June, and the November 2025 $10 billion Metsera acquisition brought in the amylin peptide MET-233i (positive Phase 1 data supporting monthly dosing). Endpoints News concurrently reported AI startup Xaira making its own leadership adjustments as the sector's talent map continues to reshape.
On July 5, Ascletis submitted two INDs to the FDA: ASC36, a peptide amylin receptor agonist dosed once monthly to once quarterly by injection, and ASC36_35, a co-formulation pairing ASC36 with the GLP-1R/GIPR agonist peptide ASC35. In diet-induced obese rat studies, ASC36 monotherapy showed roughly 91% and 32% greater relative body-weight reduction than petrelintide and eloralintide, and the ASC36_35 combination showed about 51% greater reduction than co-administered eloralintide plus tirzepatide. The filings push amylin biology further into the obesity race.
Pep2Tango Therapeutics presented preclinical data on PTT-A, a novel long-acting unimolecular peptide tetra-agonist activating the GLP-1, GIP, amylin, and calcitonin receptors simultaneously, in a Medscape 'Moving Beyond GLP-1s' feature drawing from the ADA 2026 session 'Novel Strategies for Obesity Pharmacology' (oral abstracts 85-OR and 299-OR, Diabetes journal supplement). In 21-day chronic studies in diet-induced obese rats, the higher PTT-A dose achieved 19% body weight reduction versus the vehicle, compared to 12% each for tirzepatide and cagrilintide + semaglutide (CagriSema). Body composition analysis showed fat-mass loss without lean-mass loss, distinguishing PTT-A's profile from tirzepatide's documented muscle-loss pattern. PTT-A also showed robust glucose lowering, plasma lipid improvement, insulin sensitization, and liver-fat benefits.
Roche presented ZUPREME-1 Phase 2 data for petrelintide, the once-weekly long-acting amylin analog licensed from Zealand Pharma, at the Monday June 8 investor event. The pitch hinges on tolerability: published topline showed up to 10.7% weight loss at 42 weeks versus 1.7% placebo, with discontinuation 4.8% vs 4.9% placebo and no vomiting at the maximally effective dose. Medical Daily framed the readout as a non-incretin option for the estimated 30-40% of patients who quit GLP-1s for GI side effects. Petrelintide advances to Phase 3 alongside enicepatide.
Genentech confirmed at its Monday investor event that the planned Phase 2 multi-arm fixed-dose combination of petrelintide (amylin analog) and enicepatide (GLP-1/GIP) starts mid-2026. The setup mirrors Novo's CagriSema and Lilly's Mounjaro-plus-amylin work, with Roche aiming for the same dual-mechanism economics that produced REIMAGINE 2's head-to-head win this week. Roche projected $9 billion in peak annual sales for the combined obesity pipeline at its Q1 print.
A Medscape ADA wrap on June 8 framed the post-GLP-1 era taking shape across the meeting: amylin analogs (petrelintide, cagrilintide, eloralintide) targeting GI-intolerance, triagonists (retatrutide), antibody-peptide conjugates (Amgen's maridebart cafraglutide/MariTide), and preclinical acceleration through AI peptide-design platforms. Each angle aims at the population gap that current GLP-1 monotherapy leaves: the patients who quit for tolerability, the ones who plateau, and the ones who need additional metabolic effects beyond appetite.
The 86th ADA Scientific Sessions wrapped Monday June 8 after presenting Phase 3 retatrutide TRIUMPH-1/TRANSCEND-T2D-1, CagriSema REIMAGINE 1/2/3, Foundayo ACHIEVE 1-5, survodutide SYNCHRONIZE-1, petrelintide ZUPREME-1, enicepatide CT388-103, elecoglipron VISTA/SOLSTICE, mazdutide GLORY-2/DREAMS-3, zenagamtide Phase 2, plus the inaugural ADA Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity. The next inflection points: the July 23-24 PCAC peptide-compounding meeting, August 28 ITM-11 PDUFA in NETs, and the Foundayo T2D filing in Q2.
Novo Nordisk presented Phase 2 data for zenagamtide (formerly amycretin), its unimolecular GLP-1 and amylin receptor agonist, at ADA 2026 in 262 adults with type 2 diabetes randomized across six subcutaneous doses (0.4 to 40 mg) versus placebo. The 40 mg arm cut HbA1c by 1.71 percentage points and reduced body weight by 14.6% at 36 weeks, with nearly 89% of patients reaching HbA1c below 7%. The study met its primary HbA1c endpoint across all doses; Novo plans Phase 3 in H2 2026 and hosted a same-day R&D investor event.