Cagrilintide Dosage Chart and Calculator: Protocol, Trial Doses
Cagrilintide dosage chart: units per dose by vial size for the weekly common protocol, a calculator, and the 0.3-4.5 mg Phase 2 trial doses. Not FDA-approved.
The short version
Cagrilintide has no approved dose because it has no approved product, alone or as CagriSema. Dosing-guide sources describe a once-weekly subcutaneous injection, titrating from a 0.25-0.6 mg starting dose up to a 2.4-4.5 mg maintenance dose. That is common practice, and sources disagree on the exact schedule. A published Phase 2 trial tested five weekly doses, from 0.3 mg up to 4.5 mg.
- The published Phase 2 trial tested 0.3, 0.6, 1.2, 2.4 and 4.5 mg cagrilintide, once weekly, over 26 weeks.
- Doses were reached through a six-week escalation, not started at the target dose.
- 73 participants (reported as 10%) stopped treatment permanently in that trial, most often from an adverse event.
- Reconstitution and volume math belongs on a calculator, not guessed from a forum post.
Cagrilintide has no approved dose, because neither it nor the combination it is best known for, CagriSema, has an approved product. This page reports what a published Phase 2 human trial used. It is not a recommendation for what anyone should take. For what cagrilintide is, how it works and CagriSema’s FDA filing status, see the main cagrilintide guide.
US legal status - Research use only
Cagrilintide, alone or as CagriSema, has no FDA-approved product and no approved dose. FDA states it cannot legally be compounded, because it is not a component of an FDA-approved drug and has not been found safe and effective for any condition.
AU legal status - Not on the ARTG
Not on the ARTG and not approved for supply in Australia.
Regulators reach their own conclusions on their own timelines. Where these two disagree, the difference is the point - not an error.
Cagrilintide dosage: the common protocol
The protocol most often used is a once-weekly subcutaneous injection, titrating from a 0.25-0.6 mg starting dose up to a 2.4-4.5 mg maintenance dose. Sources differ on the exact schedule, so the ranges here span what they say. This is common practice, not a trial-established or FDA-approved dose.
Common protocol
What is commonly used, not a dose established in trials. No regulator has set a dose for Cagrilintide. Sources differ, so the ranges below span them.
- Dose per administration
- 0.25-4.5 mg
- How often
- once weekly, titrating from a 0.25-0.6 mg starting dose up to a 2.4-4.5 mg maintenance dose
- Route
- Subcutaneous injection
- Cycle length
- No set length in common use
- Commonly paired with
- Semaglutide
Sources disagree on the exact titration ladder: one starts at 0.25 mg and steps up every 4 weeks to a 2.4 mg maintenance dose; another starts at 0.6 mg and steps up every 2 weeks toward 2.4-4.5 mg. Both are once-weekly subcutaneous. Some sources describe pairing with semaglutide as CagriSema.
Plan a cycle in the protocol builder or work out injection volume in the dosage calculator.
The common Cagrilintide dose is 0.25-4.5 mg, once weekly, titrating from a 0.25-0.6 mg starting dose up to a 2.4-4.5 mg maintenance dose. From a 5 mg vial mixed with 1 mL of bacteriostatic water, 2.5 mg is 50 units (0.5 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe.
Cagrilintide 5 mg vial: units per dose
Full 5 mg vial page: mixing, doses per vial, how long it lasts →
| Water added | Concentration | 1 unit = | 250 mcg | 2.5 mg | 4.5 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 mcg | 5 units | 50 units | 90 units |
| 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 25 mcg | 10 units | 100 units | over 100 units |
| 3 mL | 1.67 mg/mL | 16.67 mcg | 15 units | over 100 units | over 100 units |
All Cagrilintide vial sizes: 5 mg · 10 mg
Units are on a standard U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), rounded to the nearest half unit - half-unit marks are on 0.3 mL syringes. Water volumes are examples: more water means more units per dose, not more doses per vial. For any other vial or dose, use the calculator below.
How many 5 mg vials a cycle takes
| Scenario | Dose | Doses a week | Per 4 weeks | Total | 5 mg vials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low end of the common protocol | 250 mcg | 1 | 4 | 1 mg | 1 |
| High end of the common protocol | 4.5 mg | 1 | 4 | 18 mg | 4 |
Whole vials, rounded up. Plan a cycle with your own numbers in the protocol builder. Keep mixed vials cold and use them within the window in how long reconstituted peptides last; where to inject: subcutaneous injection sites.
Cagrilintide doses used in human studies
A Phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled dose-finding trial Lau 2021 - Lau DCW, Erichsen L, Francisco AM et al. Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management in people with overweight and obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2021;398(10317):2160-2172., in the references below enrolled 906 adults without diabetes. They had a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with hypertension or dyslipidaemia. Cagrilintide was given as a subcutaneous injection once weekly, at five target doses. Each dose was reached through a six-week dose-escalation period, then continued for the rest of a 26-week treatment period. Total follow-up was 32 weeks, including a further six weeks of observation off treatment:
| Weekly target dose | Reported mean weight change vs. placebo (26 weeks) |
|---|---|
| 0.3 mg | part of the reported 6.0%-10.8% range across all cagrilintide doses |
| 0.6 mg | part of the reported 6.0%-10.8% range across all cagrilintide doses |
| 1.2 mg | part of the reported 6.0%-10.8% range across all cagrilintide doses |
| 2.4 mg | part of the reported 6.0%-10.8% range across all cagrilintide doses |
| 4.5 mg | 10.8% (the highest dose tested; 9.0% reported for the active comparator, liraglutide 3.0 mg once daily) |
| Placebo | 3.0% |
The trial also had an active-comparator arm of liraglutide 3.0 mg once daily, and a placebo arm. These are doses measured in the trial’s own participants under clinical monitoring and a defined escalation schedule. This page does not recommend them for anyone reading it.
CagriSema is a separate dosing question
Cagrilintide’s more prominent development path is CagriSema, a fixed-dose combination of cagrilintide 2.4 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg given as a single weekly injection. It is not the same product as cagrilintide alone, and combining two separate vials does not recreate it. Its trial program, its published REDEFINE 1 results, and its pending FDA filing are covered on the main cagrilintide guide.
How to reconstitute Cagrilintide
Converting a target dose into an injection volume depends on how a specific vial was reconstituted: the diluent volume used and the concentration that results. This page cannot know either for any given vial. The dosage calculator works through vial strength, diluent volume and target amount. It does the math; it does not tell you what dose to use.
What is not established
- No approved dose exists, for cagrilintide alone or as CagriSema, for any population, indication or duration.
- No dose has been proven safe or effective by any regulator. The Phase 2 trial above is real, published human data, but it is one trial’s result in its own participants, not a demonstrated general finding.
- No human half-life is established from a source that meets this site’s citation standard.
- The common protocol above is not the trial protocol. It reflects what dosing-guide sources describe as typical practice, and those sources disagree on the exact schedule. No trial, paper or regulator has established it as safe or effective.
Who should not use it
No FDA-reviewed contraindication list exists for cagrilintide, because it has never completed FDA review. The published Phase 2 trial excluded people with diabetes.
As general context, the only FDA-approved amylin analogue, pramlintide, is a different drug on the same hormone pathway, so this is not evidence about cagrilintide itself. Its label says it should not be considered for anyone with poor treatment compliance, recurrent severe hypoglycaemia, or confirmed gastroparesis. It also carries a boxed warning for severe hypoglycaemia risk when combined with mealtime insulin.
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, use in children, and any existing medical condition are all reasons not to decide this alone.
Cagrilintide side effects and risks
The published trial reported gastrointestinal adverse events (nausea, constipation and diarrhoea) in 41% to 63% of participants on cagrilintide across its dose arms, against 32% on placebo. Nausea specifically ranged from 20% to 47% versus 18% on placebo.
73 participants (reported as 10%) stopped treatment permanently, at similar rates across treatment groups. The most common reason was an adverse event (30 participants, 4%). 29 participants (4%) withdrew from the trial itself.
Beyond what this trial reports, there is no long-term safety data past its own follow-up window. A vial sold outside the trial system carries no verified content, purity or strength.
Related
- Cagrilintide: what it is, and CagriSema’s FDA filing status
- Dosage calculator
- Retatrutide dosage: what the studies used
- Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy)
- Are peptides safe?
Cagrilintide dosage calculator
Preset to a 5 mg vial and 250 mcg, the low end of the common protocol. Enter your own vial size, water and dose to get the syringe units to draw.
Your vial
Printed on the vial. There is no standard size - enter what yours says.
This changes how much you draw - never how many doses the vial holds.
100 units per mL. 1 unit = 0.01 mL. This is what almost every insulin syringe sold is, in every barrel size.
Capacity only. A 1 mL U-100 syringe holds 100 units - the scale decides that, not the barrel.
Draw this much
= 0.1 mL on a 1 mL U-100 syringe
- Concentration
- 2,500 mcg/mL
- Exact volume
- 0.1 mL
- Dose you actually get
- 250 mcg
- Doses per vial(unaffected by water volume)
- 20
Where to buy Cagrilintide for research
Each vendor is checked against my vendor checklist.
1.Next Level PharmFeatured
5 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
- Takes card payment
2.BioEdge Research Labs
5 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
Common questions
What is the usual cagrilintide dose?
Dosing-guide sources describe a common protocol of once-weekly subcutaneous injections, titrating from a 0.25-0.6 mg starting dose up to a 2.4-4.5 mg maintenance dose. Sources disagree on the exact step schedule, so treat any single chart as one version of common practice, not an established dose. No trial or regulator has set a dose for cagrilintide.
What dose of cagrilintide did the human trial use?
A published Phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled trial in 906 adults with obesity or overweight tested subcutaneous cagrilintide once weekly. It used five target doses: 0.3 mg, 0.6 mg, 1.2 mg, 2.4 mg and 4.5 mg. Each dose was reached through a six-week dose-escalation period, over 26 weeks of total treatment.
Is there an FDA-approved cagrilintide dose?
No. Cagrilintide has no FDA-approved product, alone or as the combination CagriSema, so it has no approved dose. The doses above come from a peer-reviewed published trial, not an FDA label.
How often and for how long was cagrilintide dosed in the trial?
Once weekly. Participants spent the first six weeks escalating to their assigned target dose, then stayed on it for the rest of a 26-week treatment period. A six-week observation period off treatment followed.
What was the CagriSema combination dosed at?
That is a separate development program from cagrilintide alone. CagriSema is a fixed-dose combination of cagrilintide 2.4 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg, once weekly. The main cagrilintide guide covers it, and explains why Novo Nordisk develops the two together rather than promoting cagrilintide as a standalone product.
How do I work out reconstitution and injection volume?
That is arithmetic specific to a vial's concentration and diluent, not a dosing decision, and this page cannot know either for you. Use the dosage calculator for a specific vial and target amount; it does not tell you what dose to use.
Who should not use cagrilintide?
No FDA-reviewed contraindication list exists for cagrilintide, because it has never completed FDA review. The published Phase 2 trial excluded people with diabetes. As context, the only FDA-approved amylin analogue, pramlintide, is a different drug on the same hormone pathway. Its label says it should not be considered for anyone with poor treatment compliance, recurrent severe hypoglycaemia, or confirmed gastroparesis. It also carries a boxed warning for severe hypoglycaemia risk when combined with mealtime insulin. Anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or any existing medical condition should not decide this alone.
What are the main risks?
The published trial reported gastrointestinal adverse events (nausea, constipation and diarrhoea) in 41% to 63% of people on cagrilintide, versus 32% on placebo, rising with dose. Nausea alone ranged from 20% to 47% versus 18% on placebo. 73 participants (reported as 10%) stopped treatment permanently, at similar rates across groups. The most common reason was an adverse event. There is no FDA-reviewed safety label and no confirmed long-term data beyond this trial's window.
When should I stop and get medical care?
Get emergency care (call 911 in the US) for signs of a severe allergic reaction, severe or persistent vomiting with signs of dehydration, or severe abdominal pain. Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 if you have taken an unknown or excessive amount of anything sold as cagrilintide. This page is not a substitute for a clinician who knows your history.
References (2 sources)
Bibliographic detail is fetched from PubMed, not written by me - so a citation here cannot drift from the paper it names. Study design comes from PubMed's own tags rather than my judgement.
- 1.Lau DCW, Erichsen L, Francisco AM et al. Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management in people with overweight and obesity: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active-controlled, dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lancet. 2021;398(10317):2160-2172.Randomised trialPMID 34798060
- 2.FDA - cagrilintide cannot be used in compounding under federal law; not a component of an FDA-approved drug and not found safe and effective for any condition.- US Food and Drug Administrationregulatory