Home / Compounds / Dulaglutide
Dulaglutide
GLP-1 receptor agonist · Trulicity
- UK status
- MHRA licensed
- Availability
- Prescription only
- Evidence base
- Human RCT, phase 3
- Controlled drug
- No
Sequence
A fusion protein of about 275 amino acids, too long to render usefully. See the SPC.
The short version
What it does
Controls blood sugar in type 2 diabetes. People often lose some weight on it too, which is a real effect but not what it is approved for.
How it does it
Copies the after-meal signal from your gut, with an extra piece bolted on that stops your body clearing it quickly, so one injection lasts the week.
The catch
It has no UK weight-loss licence. If weight is what you are after, there are drugs actually approved for that, and asking for this one instead is the wrong way round.
Everything below goes into the detail, with sources.
Dulaglutide is probably the GLP-1 drug most quietly in use in the UK. It has been prescribed for type 2 diabetes for years, and it is not licensed for weight management, which is the fact people most often get wrong about it.
At a glance
- Compound type
- Fusion protein, roughly 275 amino acids
- Drug class
- GLP-1 receptor agonist
- Route
- Injection under the skin
- Frequency
- Weekly
- Duration in the body
- About five days
- Originator
- Eli Lilly
- First EU and UK approval
- 2014, for type 2 diabetes
- Licensed for weight management
- No
- In sport
- Not currently on the WADA Prohibited List. Verify with UKAD.
01What it is
Dulaglutide is a GLP-1 analogue joined to a fragment of an antibody. That antibody portion is what makes it last a week in the body, a different engineering solution to the same problem semaglutide solves with a fatty acid chain.
Being a fusion protein rather than a short chain makes it much larger than semaglutide or liraglutide. It is a protein at the far end of what people still loosely call a peptide drug.
02How it came about
Dulaglutide solved the duration problem differently from everyone else. Rather than attaching a fatty acid chain to make the molecule bind albumin, it fuses the GLP-1 analogue to a fragment of an antibody, which makes it large enough to be cleared slowly. Approved in 2014, it was one of the first practical weekly GLP-1 drugs.
The REWIND trial is its most notable result, examining cardiovascular outcomes in a broader population than several comparable trials, including people without established cardiovascular disease.
03UK legal and licensing status
Dulaglutide is licensed in the UK for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults, to improve glycaemic control alongside diet and exercise. It is available on NHS prescription and privately.
Dulaglutide has no UK weight management licence. People do lose weight on it, and that is a recognised effect, but prescribing it for weight loss would be off-label. This is the same pattern as Ozempic: a diabetes drug that has a weight effect is not the same thing as a licensed weight-loss drug.
Occasional local supply pressure on GLP-1 medicines has been common since 2022. Temporary shortage is not discontinuation, and anyone struggling to get a prescription filled should speak to their pharmacy rather than seek an alternative source.
04How it works
The same GLP-1 receptor mechanism as the rest of the class: glucose-dependent insulin release, slowed gastric emptying, and reduced appetite signalling. Once weekly by injection.
05What it is not
Claims that attach themselves to this compound and do not hold up.
- Not licensed for weight loss anywhere in the UK. People do lose weight on it and that is a recognised effect, but prescribing it for that purpose is off-label.
- Not discontinued. Occasional local supply pressure has been common across the whole class since 2022. Temporary shortage is not withdrawal.
- Not the same molecule class as semaglutide. It is a fusion protein, much larger, at the outer edge of what is loosely called a peptide drug.
06What the evidence shows
The evidence base is the AWARD programme for glycaemic control, and REWIND for cardiovascular outcomes. REWIND is the notable one: it examined cardiovascular risk reduction in people with type 2 diabetes both with and without established cardiovascular disease, which was a broader population than several comparable trials.
All were funded by Eli Lilly.
Because attention has moved to semaglutide and tirzepatide, contemporary comparative data against the newer agents is limited, and new prescribing has declined.
07Reported harms
Gastrointestinal effects predominate, as across the class. The Summary of Product Characteristics carries the full frequency table.
The January 2026 MHRA drug safety alert on acute pancreatitis applies to GLP-1 medicines as a class, and the standing advice about telling an anaesthetist before surgery applies here too.
08Interactions and cautions
Class cautions apply: contraception, surgery, and combination with insulin or sulfonylureas. Slowed gastric emptying may affect absorption of oral medicines.
09Stopping
Glucose control worsens and any weight effect reverses. For someone with type 2 diabetes this is a treatment change to be managed by a prescriber, not something to stop independently.
10Monitoring
HbA1c, weight, kidney function and tolerability, as part of routine diabetes review.
11Questions worth asking
Take these to a doctor or pharmacist. A good clinician will not mind being asked, and the answers are specific to you in a way nothing on this page can be.
- Why this rather than one of the newer drugs in the same class?
- If weight is part of what I am hoping for, is there a licensed option instead?
- What should I do if I cannot get my prescription filled?
12Common questions
Can I get Trulicity for weight loss?
Not on licence. It is licensed in the UK for type 2 diabetes only. A prescriber could in principle prescribe off-label, but licensed weight-management options exist, which makes that an unusual choice.
Has Trulicity been discontinued?
No. It remains manufactured and available in the UK for type 2 diabetes. Global demand across the GLP-1 class has caused intermittent local supply issues, which are not the same as discontinuation.
How does it compare to Mounjaro?
Tirzepatide produces greater average weight reduction and glucose lowering in trials. Dulaglutide has a much longer real-world track record, which counts for something when judging safety.
13Sources
Links go to the authoritative source. Where a document sits behind a paywall or moves around, the full citation is given so you can find it yourself.
- Summary of Product Characteristicselectronic medicines compendium
- Dulaglutide monographBNF
- Trulicity assessment reportEuropean Medicines Agency
- REWIND cardiovascular outcomes trialThe Lancet, 2019
- Drug Safety Update on GLP-1 medicinesMHRA, January 2026
Already taking this?
Guides for people already on it
Side effects and what is expected, what to do when weight loss slows, moving up a dose, supply problems, eating enough, and stopping. Written for the situation you are actually in rather than the decision you already made.
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14Change history
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