{"id":"glucagon","name":"Glucagon","aliases":["Gvoke","Baqsimi","GlucaGen","glucagon for injection"],"url":"https://lyoresearch.com/compounds/glucagon","class":{"id":"endocrine-medicines","name":"Established peptide medicines","url":"https://lyoresearch.com/classes/endocrine-medicines"},"summary":"Glucagon is the 29-amino-acid pancreatic hormone that mobilises stored glucose from the liver, and the emergency treatment for severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes. Modern formulations removed the reconstitution step that made the old kits hard to use in a crisis: a ready-to-use injection and a nasal powder. In a 75-person crossover trial the nasal powder raised blood glucose successfully at all but one dosing visit, against all visits for intramuscular injection. It is prescription-only everywhere LYO covers.","overall_grade":"A","overall_grade_meaning":"established in humans","human_trials":"Decades of use; randomised crossover trials of newer formulations","regulatory_status":"Approved (Rx)","molecule":{"formula":"C153H225N43O49S","molecular_weight":"3482.7","cas":"9007-92-5","pubchem_cid":16132283,"sequence":"HSQGTFTSDYSKYLDSRRAQDFVQWLMNT","sequence_note":null,"note":null},"pharmacokinetics":{"basis":"label","route":"Subcutaneous injection; also intranasal powder (Baqsimi), intramuscular and intravenous","half_life":"About 32 minutes subcutaneously; median about 35 minutes intranasally","licensed_regimen":"A single dose for severe hypoglycaemia, with a second dose if there is no response and emergency assistance called; the dose depends on the product and the person's age and weight","product":"Gvoke","source":{"title":"Gvoke prescribing information (DailyMed)","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=92385737-dbad-98c5-e053-2995a90a2805"}},"outcomes":[{"outcome":"Reversal of severe hypoglycaemia","grade":"A","grade_meaning":"established in humans","effect_size":"large","adverse":false,"human_studies":"Decades of use; approval programme","evidence":"The licensed indication: glucagon raises blood glucose within minutes by mobilising hepatic glycogen, and is the standard rescue treatment when someone with diabetes cannot take sugar by mouth. The effect is large, fast and uncontested.","references":[{"citation":"Gvoke (glucagon injection) prescribing information.","where":"DailyMed, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=92385737-dbad-98c5-e053-2995a90a2805"},{"citation":"Baqsimi (glucagon nasal powder) prescribing information.","where":"DailyMed, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=f1f5df9b-872f-44e5-a18f-f0b68e7e9254"}]},{"outcome":"Nasal versus intramuscular delivery","grade":"A","grade_meaning":"established in humans","effect_size":"moderate","adverse":false,"human_studies":"1 randomised crossover trial (n=75)","evidence":"Seventy-five adults with type 1 diabetes received insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and then either the 3 mg nasal powder or 1 mg intramuscular glucagon, each at separate visits. Treatment success was reached at all but one nasal visit and at every intramuscular visit — the basis for approving a formulation a bystander can actually use.","references":[{"citation":"Rickels MR, Ruedy KJ, Foster NC, et al. Intranasal glucagon for treatment of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes: a randomized crossover noninferiority study.","where":"Diabetes Care, 2016;39:264–270","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26681725/"}],"verbatim":{"text":"Success criteria were met at all but one intranasal visit and at all intramuscular visits (98.7% vs. 100%; difference 1.3%, upper end of 1-sided 97.5% CI 4.0%).","citation":"Rickels MR, Ruedy KJ, Foster NC, et al. Intranasal glucagon for treatment of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes: a randomized crossover noninferiority study.","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26681725/"}},{"outcome":"Nausea and local discomfort","grade":"A","grade_meaning":"established in humans","effect_size":"moderate","adverse":true,"human_studies":"1 randomised crossover trial (n=75); approval programme","evidence":"Nausea is intrinsic to glucagon and occurred at a third of visits by either route; the nasal route adds head and facial discomfort. Side effects that matter less than the hypoglycaemia being treated, and worth knowing before the emergency.","references":[{"citation":"Rickels MR, Ruedy KJ, Foster NC, et al. Intranasal glucagon for treatment of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes: a randomized crossover noninferiority study.","where":"Diabetes Care, 2016;39:264–270","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26681725/"}],"verbatim":{"text":"Head/facial discomfort was reported during 25% of intranasal and 9% of intramuscular dosing visits; nausea (with or without vomiting) occurred with 35% and 38% of visits, respectively.","citation":"Rickels MR, Ruedy KJ, Foster NC, et al. Intranasal glucagon for treatment of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes: a randomized crossover noninferiority study.","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26681725/"}},{"outcome":"Use for weight loss or body composition","grade":"D","grade_meaning":"no human evidence","effect_size":"not measurable","adverse":false,"human_studies":"None","evidence":"Glucagon receptor agonism is part of several investigational obesity drugs (survodutide, mazdutide, pemvidutide, retatrutide) because it raises energy expenditure. Glucagon itself has no trial as a weight-loss treatment, is given by emergency routes, and raises blood glucose — the opposite of what a diabetes treatment is for.","references":[]}],"regions":[{"region":"European Union","status":"Approved, prescription-only","note":"GlucaGen HypoKit and Baqsimi authorised for severe hypoglycaemia; also authorised for diagnostic use."},{"region":"United States","status":"Approved, prescription-only","note":"Gvoke (ready-to-use injection, 2019) and Baqsimi (nasal powder, 2019), alongside older reconstituted kits."},{"region":"United Kingdom","status":"Licensed, prescription-only","note":"GlucaGen HypoKit and Baqsimi licensed by the MHRA."},{"region":"Australia","status":"Registered, Schedule 4","note":"GlucaGen HypoKit registered on the ARTG."},{"region":"Canada","status":"Authorised, prescription-only","note":"Baqsimi and glucagon injection authorised with Drug Identification Numbers."},{"region":"Sport (WADA)","status":"Not prohibited","note":"Not named on the Prohibited List."}],"faq":[{"q":"What is glucagon used for?","a":"Emergency treatment of severe hypoglycaemia in people with diabetes, when they cannot safely take sugar by mouth. It is also used to relax the gut for imaging and in hospital for certain overdoses."},{"q":"Does the nasal spray work as well as the injection?","a":"In a 75-person crossover trial the nasal powder met the treatment-success criterion at all but one dosing visit, and injection at every visit. The point of the nasal product is that a frightened bystander can give it without assembling anything."},{"q":"If glucagon burns fat, can it be used for weight loss?","a":"No. Glucagon raises blood glucose and has a half-life of about half an hour; it has never been trialled for weight loss. Its receptor is one of the targets the investigational dual and triple agonists activate alongside GLP-1 — that is a different kind of molecule."}],"references":[{"cite":"Rickels MR, Ruedy KJ, Foster NC, et al. Intranasal glucagon for treatment of insulin-induced hypoglycemia in adults with type 1 diabetes: a randomized crossover noninferiority study.","where":"Diabetes Care, 2016;39:264–270","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26681725/","note":"75 adults, crossover, 3 mg intranasal versus 1 mg intramuscular."},{"cite":"Gvoke (glucagon injection) prescribing information.","where":"DailyMed, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=92385737-dbad-98c5-e053-2995a90a2805","note":"Route, half-life and licensed use of the ready-to-use subcutaneous injection."},{"cite":"Baqsimi (glucagon nasal powder) prescribing information.","where":"DailyMed, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=f1f5df9b-872f-44e5-a18f-f0b68e7e9254","note":"Nasal route; median half-life about 35 minutes."},{"cite":"PubChem compound record: glucagon.","where":"PubChem, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/16132283","note":"Formula, molecular weight, CAS and the 29-residue sequence used on this page."}],"last_reviewed":"2026-10-29","literature_searched_to":"2026-10-29","changelog":[{"date":"2026-10-29","note":"Initial publication. Grade A on the approval programme and the nasal-versus-intramuscular crossover trial."}],"license":"CC BY 4.0 — cite as “LYO Research” with a link.","methodology":"https://lyoresearch.com/methodology"}