Peptides in 2TM · Cagrilintide

Behind the film: Cagrilintide references & context

Peptides in 2 — Episode 10. Evidence cutoff: October 13, 2026.

Identity and historical credit

Cagrilintide is one engineered peptide. It is distinct from CagriSema, the combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide. The 2021 development paper credits Thomas Kruse and a Novo Nordisk team with an affiliation in Måløv, Denmark. The inset map identifies that institutional location. The background photograph shows Novo Nordisk headquarters in Bagsværd, a different location explicitly labeled on screen; it does not identify the laboratory where cagrilintide was developed. Publication year is not the exact date invention began. The work describes a stable, lipidated, long-acting analogue.

Source: Kruse T et al. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 64:11183–11194 (2021), DOI 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00565. PubMed 34288673.

Receptors and experimental structures

Amylin receptors contain calcitonin receptor and one of the receptor activity-modifying proteins RAMP1, RAMP2 or RAMP3. Cagrilintide activates amylin and calcitonin receptors. The initial receptor scene is now an original rendering from PDB 9BP3: cagrilintide bound to an AMY₁ receptor, comprising calcitonin receptor and RAMP1. The cyan and purple traces represent Cα backbone coordinates; the peptide also displays resolved atoms. Other experimental-complex components are omitted. This is not a simulated binding trajectory.

The later molecular animation uses PDB 9BUC, a cagrilintide–calcitonin receptor–Gs experimental complex. It is not an amylin receptor–RAMP structure. The original 3D view shows the receptor backbone and resolved cagrilintide atoms; Gs signaling proteins and a stabilizing nanobody are omitted. Colors and camera rotation are presentation choices. Engineered constructs and unresolved regions limit inference. This is a static structural model, not a molecular-dynamics simulation or footage inside a patient, and it cannot establish long-term clinical safety.

Sources: Nature Communications (2025), DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-58680-y; RCSB PDB 9BUC, DOI 10.2210/pdb9buc/pdb. Coordinate source: https://files.rcsb.org/download/9BUC.cif. The model is rendered independently; no published journal figure is reproduced.

Human evidence

The 2021 phase 2 publication studied 706 adults without diabetes at 57 sites in ten countries, with 26 weeks of treatment. Enrollment was in 2019. The displayed 6.0–10.8% weight-reduction range spans cagrilintide dose groups; placebo was 3.0%, under the adherence-assuming trial-product estimand. The population, study duration and analysis matter. Nausea, constipation, diarrhea and administration-site reactions were reported. These averages do not predict a person's result or authorize self-treatment.

Source: Lau DCW et al. The Lancet 398:2160–2172 (2021), DOI 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01751-7. PubMed 34798060. Sponsor: Novo Nordisk. The publication contains conflicts-of-interest disclosures. Trial registration NCT03856047.

Trial countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Poland, Serbia, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States. These countries describe the trial, not the conceptual clinical-research image. The film neither claims every continent participated nor extrapolates findings to every population.

Current development and the next episode

Novo reports that cagrilintide monotherapy entered the phase 3 RENEW programme. The film remains an investigational-development account, not a worldwide approval or availability statement. Combination results must not be relabeled as cagrilintide-alone results. CagriSema will be a separate episode. Evidence and regulatory status can change after the cutoff.

Sources: Novo Nordisk Annual Report 2025: innovation and therapeutic focus; Novo September 21, 2026 announcement, which describes CagriSema as investigational. Company announcements are identified as such and are not independent clinical assessment.

Artwork, audio and production

• The chemistry and cryo-EM preparation scenes are newly generated conceptual artworks. They do not show an actual company laboratory, manufacturing site, scientist or marketed cagrilintide product.
• Denmark and trial maps are original graphics using Natural Earth public-domain geometry. The results are displayed as concise overlays on new conceptual imagery.
• The two molecular scenes use distinct experimental structures: AMY₁ receptor complex 9BP3 at about 0:30, and calcitonin receptor complex 9BUC later. Both are original animations from experimental coordinates, separate from conceptual artwork. PDB data usage policy.
• Established WPF branding and the full spoken closing recur. Content scene artwork is not reused from earlier episodes or repeated in separate scenes.
• Established Tom synthetic narration and one new instrumental track. No real researcher's voice is cloned. Music is lowered by 4 dB from its normalized background level, with a three-second opening build and final fade.
• Montserrat uses the SIL Open Font License, included in the source pack.
• Production: 1920×1080, 24 fps, 120 seconds, stereo AAC. Separate English SRT and VTT captions are supplied; timing is estimated within measured speech segments.

WPF does not sell peptides or provide medical advice. Source verification is distinct from independent scientific or personal human review; neither is claimed here. Self-reported observations remain distinct from clinical evidence. Suggest a correction or email admin@worldpeptidefoundation.org.

Photograph attribution for the revised development scene

Novo Nordisk headquarters building Denmark, photographed June 8, 2016 by News Øresund — Johan Wessman. Location: Bagsværd, Denmark. Original source · Wikimedia Commons file and license record · Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. Adaptations: 16:9 crop, dark readability gradient, gentle camera push and text/map overlays. The photograph and author do not endorse WPF. Retain this attribution and license link with the film when publishing. Måløv remains the development-paper affiliation, not the pictured building.

The refined inset uses Natural Earth 1:50m geography. Molecular coordinates for the revised technical scene: RCSB PDB 9BP3, documented as the Cagri–AMY₁R complex in the cited 2025 paper.

Cinematic visual upgrade

The clinical trial, measurement and future-development sections now use three newly created, image-led scenes with continuous camera movement and concise, timed text. These are conceptual settings, not photographs of actual trial sites or a particular company laboratory. The licensed Bagsværd headquarters photo and correctly located Måløv research-affiliation map remain.

The molecular sections now use locally rendered, lit 3D geometry derived from PDB 9BP3 (AMY1 complex) and 9BUC (calcitonin receptor complex). Receptor/accessory protein backbones and selected resolved peptide atoms are shown; colors and camera movement aid viewing. This is not a simulated binding event, complete atomistic surface, or proof of human safety. The same narration, music, timing and closing are preserved. Onscreen text and captions use American spelling, diarrhea.

Download the English captions (VTT). Caption timing is approximate within measured narration segments.