Related medicinesTeduglutide
Where it comes from
- Made in
- L cells of the lower gut, cut from proglucagon together with GLP-1
- Sent out by
- Nutrients after a meal
- Acts on
- Intestinal crypts (through nerves and cells beneath the lining)
- Gut blood vessels
- Stomach
What it does
- Makes the villi grow and the lining thicken
- Raises blood flow to the gut and the uptake of nutrients
- Slows gastric emptying and acid
In medicine
- Teduglutide, a DPP-4-resistant analogue, is approved for short bowel syndrome and lets many patients cut their intravenous feeding 2: 63% of those treated responded against 30% on placebo in its pivotal trial 1
- Longer-acting analogues (apraglutide, glepaglutide) have been through phase 3 for the same condition; the US regulator asked both for another trial, and Europe recommended glepaglutide for approval in 2026
Beyond the body’s own use
- Both longer-acting analogues did what they were meant to do in phase 3: glepaglutide cut weekly intravenous support by 5.1 litres against 2.9 on placebo in 106 patients 3, and once-weekly apraglutide cut it by 25.5% against 12.5% in 163 patients 4. Neither is approved in the United States
- GLP-2 has been studied for the gut damage of chemotherapy and for Crohn’s disease, in both cases without an approval
- Swallowed, a peptide of this size is digested, so nothing taken by mouth reaches the GLP-2 receptor; every trial has used injections
Sources
- Jeppesen et al., Teduglutide reduces need for parenteral support in short bowel syndrome, Gastroenterology 2012
- Teduglutide (Gattex), FDA application NDA 203441
- Jeppesen et al., Glepaglutide reduces parenteral support in short bowel syndrome, Gastroenterology 2025
- Joly et al., Once-weekly apraglutide in short bowel syndrome (STARS), Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2026
This card describes what a medicine is for and what the evidence says; it recommends nothing. Talk to your clinician about anything you read here.