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CagriSema vs Retatrutide: Two Drugs Nobody Can Buy Yet

CagriSema (cagrilintide 2.4 mg + semaglutide 2.4 mg, Novo Nordisk) vs Retatrutide (retatrutide (LY3437943), Eli Lilly)

Last verified July 2026

By Ruth Calder · Enforcement Editor
Editorially reviewed & fact-checked against primary sources · How we verify contentLast reviewed

The verdict

⛔ Neither is approved and neither is for sale, so treat every number here as a preview rather than a choice. REDEFINE-1 reported −20.4% at 68 weeks for CagriSema in 2,108 people; retatrutide's phase 2 reported −24.2% at 48 weeks in an 81-person arm. A phase 2 dose arm and a phase 3 trial are not comparable evidence, and phase 2 results routinely shrink at scale. ⚠ Both are sold as gray-market peptides. This register does not list those sellers.

Side-by-side comparison

FieldCagriSemaRetatrutide
Peak weight loss (trial)−20.4% at 68 wk (REDEFINE-1, treatment-policy estimand, N=2108)−24.2% at 48 wk (Phase 2, 12 mg dose, N=81 in that arm)
MechanismAmylin analog (cagrilintide) + GLP-1 receptor agonist (semaglutide)Triple agonist: GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors
Trial stage / statusPhase 3 complete (REDEFINE-1 published Aug 2025); NDA submission to FDA anticipatedPhase 3 TRIUMPH program ongoing; results expected 2026–2027
AdministrationOnce-weekly subcutaneous injectionOnce-weekly subcutaneous injection
FDA statusNot yet approved; NDA submission anticipated 2025–2026, decision pendingNot approved; Phase 3 ongoing, earliest approval 2027–2028
GI side effectsReported in 79.6% of CagriSema group (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; mostly mild–moderate)Dose-related GI events predominated in Phase 2; largely mild–moderate
Cardiovascular / CVOT dataREDEFINE-1 not a cardiovascular outcomes trial; dedicated CVOT ongoingNo CVOT data available; TRIUMPH cardiovascular outcomes arm not yet reported

Frequently asked questions

Which works better for weight loss, CagriSema or Retatrutide?

CagriSema recorded −20.4% at 68 wk (REDEFINE-1, treatment-policy estimand, N=2108); Retatrutide recorded −24.2% at 48 wk (Phase 2, 12 mg dose, N=81 in that arm). ⚠ These come from separate trials with different protocols and populations, so the gap between two numbers from two studies is weaker evidence than it looks. No head-to-head trial of this pair is on record here.

Are CagriSema and Retatrutide the same drug?

No. CagriSema is cagrilintide 2.4 mg + semaglutide 2.4 mg and Retatrutide is retatrutide (LY3437943) — different molecules, and they work differently: Amylin analog (cagrilintide) + GLP-1 receptor agonist (semaglutide) against Triple agonist: GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors. Results with one do not predict results with the other.

Does either one have better cardiovascular evidence?

Neither has a clear edge. CagriSema: REDEFINE-1 not a cardiovascular outcomes trial; dedicated CVOT ongoing. Retatrutide: No CVOT data available; TRIUMPH cardiovascular outcomes arm not yet reported. This matters more than it first appears — a drug with a completed outcomes trial has evidence about events that matter, not only about weight, and that is often what decides coverage.

Which has worse side effects, CagriSema or Retatrutide?

The most common adverse event reported was Reported in 79.6% of CagriSema group (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; mostly mild–moderate) for CagriSema and Dose-related GI events predominated in Phase 2; largely mild–moderate for Retatrutide. ⚠ Rates come from separate trial populations and are not a like-for-like comparison. In practice how fast the dose is escalated affects tolerability at least as much as which drug it is, which is one reason a slower titration is worth asking for.

How is each one taken?

CagriSema: Once-weekly subcutaneous injection. Retatrutide: Once-weekly subcutaneous injection. Worth weighing honestly against your own habits — the best drug for you is partly the one you will still be taking in eight months, and a dosing routine that does not fit a life gets abandoned.

Can I switch from CagriSema to Retatrutide?

Yes, with a prescriber. Expect to re-titrate from the bottom of the new drug's ladder rather than starting where you left off: these are different molecules and tolerance to one does not transfer to the other. Both the old drug's washout and the new drug's schedule apply.

Which one should I ask for?

That is a prescriber's call, and anyone answering it from a table is guessing. What a page like this can do is tell you what the trials measured, what the manufacturers charge, and where the evidence is still missing, so the conversation starts from the record rather than from an advertisement.

References

  1. 1.Garvey WT, Blüher M, et al.; REDEFINE 1 Study Group Coadministered Cagrilintide and Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity N Engl J Med. 2025. PMID: 40544433.
  2. 2.Jastreboff AM, Kaplan LM, Frías JP, et al.; Retatrutide Phase 2 Obesity Trial Investigators Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity — A Phase 2 Trial N Engl J Med. 2023. PMID: 37366315.
  3. 3.Giblin K, Bethel MA, et al. Retatrutide for the treatment of obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis: Rationale and design of the TRIUMPH registrational clinical trials Diabetes Obes Metab. 2026. PMID: 41090431.
  4. 4.Davies MJ, et al.; REDEFINE 2 Study Group Cagrilintide-Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes N Engl J Med. 2025. PMID: 40544432.

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