Albiglutide dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Albiglutide is a once-a-week GLP-1 shot approved in 2014 and pulled from every market by 2018.
Evidence grade for Albiglutide: Strong. The rule: at least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. The sum on this page: 2 completed trials, 10,304 people given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 10,304
- Human studies
- 2
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose.
2 completed trials, 10,304 people given it
No first-hand reports gathered yet. That is a gap in what we have collected, not a finding that nothing has been reported.
Goal pages: Fat loss and metabolism, Ageing and longevity, Hormones and growth hormone, Heart and circulation, Immune system and inflammation
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
Albiglutide was a weekly shot for type 2 diabetes, sold as Tanzeum and Eperzan. It works on the same GLP-1 signal as semaglutide. It was joined to albumin, a blood protein, so it lasted about 5 days. It was approved in 2014. The maker pulled it from every market by 2018, for what it called commercial reasons.
What people take it for
- Lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetes.
- Fewer heart attacks and strokes.
- Replacing mealtime insulin.
What studies in people showed
The big heart study had 9,463 people with type 2 diabetes and heart or blood vessel disease. Over about 1.6 years, 7 percent on this drug had a heart death, heart attack or stroke. On a dummy shot it was 9 percent. That is a 22 percent lower risk. In 814 people on insulin, 54 percent on this drug stopped mealtime insulin and kept the same blood sugar. In a head-to-head test against liraglutide, in 841 people, it lowered blood sugar less. It failed to prove it was no worse. The maker paid for all of it.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- Fewer heart attacks, strokes and heart deaths than on a dummy shot.
- Fewer stomach and gut side effects than liraglutide.
The bad
- Injection site reactions were more than twice as common as on liraglutide.
- In the insulin swap study, stomach and gut side effects doubled.
- It is no longer sold anywhere.
Where these come from: These come from the studies and regulator records on this page. We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
My bottom line
A drug can protect the heart and still get pulled. Good evidence does not keep a product on the shelf. You cannot get this one. If you have diabetes, ask your doctor about the drugs in this family that are still sold.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Measured in people
Goals Albiglutide has been tested for in people, biggest studies first. We count only what the studies on this page say, so the real numbers may be higher.
- Thyroid9,463 people · 1 study
- Heart attacks and strokes9,463 people · 1 study
- Cancer and tumours9,463 people · 1 study
- Blood sugar and insulin841 people · 2 studies
32 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind Albiglutide
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove Albiglutide does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about Albiglutide and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is Albiglutide?
Albiglutide is a once-a-week GLP-1 shot approved in 2014 and pulled from every market by 2018. In the 9,463 person Harmony Outcomes study, it cut heart deaths, heart attacks and strokes by 22 percent compared with a dummy injection. In a head-to-head test, it lowered average blood sugar (HbA1c) less than liraglutide. It is no longer sold anywhere.
Albiglutide is a lab-built protein. It joins two copies of human GLP-1 to human albumin, the main protein in blood. In each GLP-1 copy, one building block was swapped so the body's DPP-4 enzyme cannot chop it up. The albumin makes it last about 5 days, so it was a weekly shot. It also makes it huge: 72,970 daltons, by far the largest molecule ever sold as a GLP-1 drug. GlaxoSmithKline developed it as GSK716155. The FDA approved it as Tanzeum on 15 April 2014, and the European Medicines Agency approved it as Eperzan in March 2014. Both approvals were for blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
The key study came after approval. Harmony Outcomes (Lancet, 2018) took 9,463 adults aged 40 and over with type 2 diabetes and existing heart or blood vessel disease, at 610 sites in 28 countries. People were assigned by chance to albiglutide 30 to 50 mg a week or a dummy injection, on top of their usual care. Over a middle value of 1.6 years, 338 of 4,731 people (7 percent) on albiglutide had a heart death, heart attack or stroke. On the dummy it was 428 of 4,732 (9 percent). That is 4.6 against 5.9 events per 100 people per year, a 22 percent lower risk, and chance is very unlikely to explain it. Pancreas swelling (10 against 7 cases), pancreatic cancer (6 against 5) and one kind of thyroid cancer (medullary, 0 in each) did not differ. GlaxoSmithKline paid for it. Before that, a head-to-head study against liraglutide (HARMONY 7, Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology 2014) ran 32 weeks in 841 adults, who knew which drug they had. HbA1c fell 0.78 points on albiglutide against 0.99 on liraglutide. Albiglutide was supposed to show it was no worse, within a margin set in advance. The 0.21 point gap missed that margin. Albiglutide caused more injection site reactions (12.9 against 5.4 percent) and fewer stomach and gut problems (35.9 against 49.0 percent).
The drug was withdrawn anyway. The EMA's Eperzan page records that its approval was withdrawn on 29 October 2018 at the request of the holder, GlaxoSmithKline Trading Services Limited. The company had told the European Commission it would stop selling the product for good, for commercial reasons. The FDA's drug database lists Tanzeum as discontinued. Two registry entries say the same in the company's words. A planned children's study (NCT03015519) was withdrawn because albiglutide would be off the market before the study ended. A small follow-on study (NCT02750930) was stopped because of GSK business considerations, not because of quality, safety or effectiveness concerns. No other reason appears in any primary source, and this page gives none.
How does Albiglutide work?
Albiglutide switches on the GLP-1 receptor. That boosts insulin when blood sugar is high, holds back glucagon, slows how fast the stomach empties and cuts appetite. Every drug in this family works that way. Two things set it apart. The swapped building block in each GLP-1 copy stops the DPP-4 enzyme from cutting it. And being joined to human albumin, made in yeast, keeps it in the blood for days. Its large size may also keep more of it out of the brain than smaller drugs in the family. That is one idea for why it caused less weight loss. But it is a guess, not something shown in people. In the head-to-head study, you could see what the albumin design did in practice. There were fewer stomach and gut side effects than on liraglutide (35.9 against 49.0 percent). There were more injection site reactions (12.9 against 5.4 percent). And average blood sugar fell less. The FDA label carries the boxed warning shared by this drug family, about thyroid tumours seen in lab rodents given other GLP-1 drugs. It notes that albiglutide itself could not be tested for cancer risk in rodents.
What have studies in people found about Albiglutide?
One of the largest human records of any drug on this site. A heart study in 9,463 people. A full set of blood sugar studies, including a head-to-head against liraglutide in 841 people. An 814 person study of replacing mealtime insulin. And four years on the market. GlaxoSmithKline paid for all the studies.
- Harmony Outcomes: 9,463 people, a middle value of 1.6 years. Heart death, heart attack or stroke in 7 percent against 9 percent on the dummy injection, a 22 percent lower risk. Chance is very unlikely to explain it. No extra pancreas swelling, pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer showed up during the study.
- Insulin swap study: 814 people. 54 percent on weekly albiglutide stopped all mealtime insulin, with the same average blood sugar as those who kept it. They weighed 4.4 kg less than the insulin group and had fewer low blood sugar episodes. The cost was twice as many stomach and gut side effects.
- HARMONY 7 head-to-head: 841 people, 32 weeks. HbA1c fell 0.78 points on albiglutide against 0.99 on liraglutide, and albiglutide failed the test of being no worse. Fewer stomach and gut problems (35.9 against 49.0 percent), more injection site reactions (12.9 against 5.4 percent).
- A later re-sorting of Harmony Outcomes by age: the results leaned toward albiglutide in every age group. For people 65 and over, and 75 and over, chance could explain the result.
- It was approved in 2014 based on the blood sugar studies. The FDA label noted that its blood sugar drops were smaller than with some other drugs, and that it was not advised as a first choice.
What this does not tell you: A middle follow-up of 1.6 years is short for a heart study, and it says nothing about longer stretches. The heart result is against a dummy injection. No heart study compared albiglutide with another GLP-1 drug. So the head-to-head evidence is only about blood sugar, and it favoured liraglutide. The drug is not sold anywhere, so none of this is something a patient can act on. The maker paid for everything, and the maker stopped selling it.
The state of the research
Albiglutide breaks a comfortable assumption: that a drug which wins a big study on hard health results stays on the market. It cut heart deaths, heart attacks and strokes by 22 percent in 9,463 people, published in the Lancet in October 2018. Its European approval was withdrawn the same month, at the company's request, for what the EMA records as commercial reasons. The FDA's drug database lists it as discontinued. The only reasons on record are the company's own phrases, in the EMA notice and two registry entries: commercial reasons, business considerations, not quality, safety or effectiveness. This page does not go beyond them.
The evidence does show what the drug was up against. In its own head-to-head study, it lowered average blood sugar less than liraglutide and failed the test of being no worse. Its weight loss in the approval studies was smaller than that of the newer drugs in the family that followed. And by 2018, dulaglutide and semaglutide offered weekly shots with bigger drops in blood sugar and weight. A drug can truly protect people and still be the weakest in its family on the measures doctors use to choose. Evidence and availability are different things. Albiglutide is the clearest case in the GLP-1 research that the two can split apart.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
19,767people, across 3 studies in people cited here
| Study | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Lancet 2018 | 9,463 | 48% |
| ClinicalTrials.gov 2019 | 9,463 | 48% |
| Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology 2014 | 841 | 4% |
Counts are the number of people each study on this page says it signed up. That includes studies that only watched people and gave nobody the compound. 3 more studies in people give no headcount and are not counted here. Studies still signing people up are left out, and only studies cited on this page are counted.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
6 of 8 sources here are studies in people. The rest are not.
- Study in people · done in people675%
- Review of studies · sums up other studies225%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
The studies cover 6 different years, 2014 to 2024, counted from the list of sources on this page.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Approved in 2 of 4, by prescription in 0, not approved in 2. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 4 · how much does what
Nobody has tested different amounts in people
This chart would show how the effect changes as the amount goes up. For this compound, nobody has measured that in people. So we leave it empty. We will not borrow an animal chart and pretend it works the same in people.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Biologic
- Molecule weight
- 72,970 Da (albumin fusion protein, FDA label)
- Half-life
- About 5 daysLong, 1 to 7 days
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for Albiglutide, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2018Albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Harmony Outcomes): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial
Albiglutide cut heart attacks, strokes and cardiac deaths in people with diabetes and heart disease. Nearly ten thousand adults across 28 countries were split by chance between the drug and a dummy injection, and followed for about a year and a half. Nobody involved knew which. Seven in a hundred on the drug had a heart attack, stroke or cardiac death, against nine in a hundred on the dummy. Pancreas and thyroid problems were rare and evenly spread. GlaxoSmithKline funded it.
9,463 adults aged 40 and over with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, 610 sites, 28 countries, randomised 1:1 to albiglutide 30 to 50 mg weekly or placebo, median follow-up 1.6 years. Primary composite (cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke): 338 of 4,731 (7 percent) against 428 of 4,732 (9 percent), hazard ratio 0.78 (95 percent CI 0.68 to 0.90), superiority P equals 0.0006. Pancreatitis 10 against 7, pancreatic cancer 6 against 5, medullary thyroid carcinoma 0 against 0. Funded by GlaxoSmithKline.
- Study in people2014Once-weekly albiglutide versus once-daily liraglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on oral drugs (HARMONY 7): a randomised, open-label, multicentre, non-inferiority phase 3 study
In a head to head against liraglutide, albiglutide lost. 841 adults were split by chance between the two drugs for eight months, and everybody knew which they were on. Average blood sugar fell further on liraglutide. Albiglutide was meant to prove it was no worse, and it failed to prove that. Injection site reactions were more than twice as common on albiglutide. Stomach side effects were less common. GlaxoSmithKline funded it, and the result still went against their drug.
841 adults randomised to albiglutide 30 mg weekly (titrated to 50 mg) or liraglutide titrated to 1.8 mg daily, 32 weeks, open-label. HbA1c change minus 0.78 percentage points against minus 0.99; difference 0.21 (95 percent CI 0.08 to 0.34), non-inferiority not met at the 0.3 margin (P equals 0.0846). Injection site reactions 12.9 against 5.4 percent; gastrointestinal events 35.9 against 49.0 percent. Funded by GlaxoSmithKline. A head to head result in which the comparator won on the primary endpoint.
- Study in people2020Impact of a Weekly Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonist, Albiglutide, on Glycemic Control and on Reducing Prandial Insulin Use in Type 2 Diabetes Inadequately Controlled on Multiple Insulin Therapy: A Randomized Trial
Albiglutide let most people drop their mealtime insulin without losing blood sugar control. 814 people on insulin were split by chance: one group swapped mealtime insulin for albiglutide, the other carried on. After six months blood sugar was the same in both. More than half on albiglutide stopped mealtime insulin entirely. They lost two kilograms while the others gained two and a half. Stomach side effects were twice as common. Published after the drug had already been withdrawn. The sponsor paid.
814 people on basal plus prandial insulin randomised to albiglutide plus glargine with lispro withdrawn (402) or continued lispro plus glargine (412), 26 weeks. HbA1c 6.7 against 6.6 percent, non-inferior; 54 percent on albiglutide stopped all prandial insulin; weight minus 2.0 against plus 2.4 kg; documented hypoglycaemia 57.2 against 75.0 percent; gastrointestinal adverse events 26 against 13 percent. Published after the drug was withdrawn. Sponsor funded.
- Study in people2024Effect of albiglutide on cardiovascular outcomes in older adults: A post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial
A later look asked whether albiglutide worked less well in older people, and could not settle it. Researchers re-sorted the big heart trial by age after it had finished. Under 65, the benefit looked larger. At 65 and over, it looked smaller and the difference could have been chance. Treating age as a sliding scale rather than two boxes, it made no difference at all. This analysis was done after the results were known. It raises a question. It does not answer one.
Post hoc analysis of Harmony Outcomes by age: hazard ratio 0.66 (95 percent CI 0.53 to 0.82) under 65 and 0.86 (0.71 to 1.04) at 65 and over (interaction P equals 0.07); 0.78 under 75 and 0.70 (0.48 to 1.01) at 75 and over. Age as a continuous variable did not modify the effect. Post hoc, so hypothesis-generating.
- Study in people2019Effect of Albiglutide, When Added to Standard Blood Glucose Lowering Therapies, on Major Cardiovascular Events in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Harmony Outcomes)
This is the registry entry for the big albiglutide heart trial. 9,463 people took part, it finished in February 2018, and results were posted in March 2019. GlaxoSmithKline sponsored it. The outcome is in the paper above: fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiac deaths on the drug.
9,463 participants, completed February 2018, results posted 6 March 2019. Sponsor GlaxoSmithKline.
- Study in people2018A Study to Evaluate Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Efficacy of Albiglutide in Pediatric Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes (withdrawn)
A trial in children was registered and then never started. The sponsor's stated reason is blunt: recruitment never began because albiglutide was going to be off the market before the study could end. A separate extension study was stopped too, and the company said that was a business decision, not a safety or effectiveness one. No child ever took part. Nothing is known about this drug in children.
Phase 3, WITHDRAWN before enrolment. Sponsor's reason: the study did not start recruiting as albiglutide would have been withdrawn from the market prior to study end. A separate extension (NCT02750930) was terminated as a result of GSK business considerations and not due to quality, safety or efficacy concerns.
- Review of studies2018Eperzan (albiglutide): European Public Assessment Report, authorisation withdrawn
The European regulator's record of the withdrawal. Eperzan was approved on 20 March 2014. The approval was withdrawn on 29 October 2018 at the request of the holder, GlaxoSmithKline Trading Services Limited. The company had told the European Commission it would stop selling it for good, for commercial reasons.
Marketing authorisation issued 20 March 2014 and withdrawn 29 October 2018 at the request of the holder, GlaxoSmithKline Trading Services Limited, which notified the European Commission of its decision to permanently discontinue the marketing of the product for commercial reasons. The primary regulatory record of the withdrawal.
- Review of studies2017TANZEUM (albiglutide) for injection, prescribing information (2017 revision)
The official US label, 2017 version. It covers blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, alongside diet and exercise, and it was not advised as a first choice. It describes the drug as two GLP-1 copies joined to human albumin, lasting about 5 days. It carries the drug family's boxed warning about thyroid tumours. The FDA now lists it as discontinued.
Indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise for glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes; not recommended as first-line therapy. Recombinant fusion of two DPP-4 resistant GLP-1 copies to human albumin, molecular weight 72,970 daltons, half-life 5 days. Boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumours by class. Drugs@FDA now lists the product as Discontinued.
Where to buy Albiglutide
1 seller lists Albiglutide in our latest read. They are ranked by trust score, then by archive rating, then by certificate tier, then by the lowest price per milligram. Archive evidence is counted before source-backed. Each path is out of 4, and the two are not added. A higher price does not raise the score. The letter is the certificate chip. 0 of them have a published certificate that names Albiglutide.
Some seller links may pay this site when you buy through them. A payment never changes a seller's tier or rank, and no seller has a say in any page.
| Seller | Trust score | Vial sizes | From, per mg | Certificate for Albiglutide | Seller link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Molecules | 28 InsufficientSource-backed 1 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.C | 10 mg | $81.0 | None found for Albiglutide | View |
- LC Lab-confirmed: the issuing laboratory echoed this certificate back
- A Current certificate, independent laboratory named, laboratory not yet checked
- B Certificate published, but no laboratory link, older than a year, or the laboratory did not recognise the published lookup
- C No certificate could be read
Every listing and vial size for Albiglutide · How the trust score is counted
Sellers named on the price pages are ranked by certificate tier, then price, and any affiliate income is disclosed there. Naming a seller is not a recommendation to buy or use anything.
Common questions
Has Albiglutide been tested in people?
Yes. 10,304 people given it across 2 completed trials cited here, 0 of which found nothing. Albiglutide is a once-a-week GLP-1 shot approved in 2014 and pulled from every market by 2018.
What is the Albiglutide dosage?
No human dose established. Amounts that were given in studies sit in Human evidence on this page. None of them is a personal dose. 2 completed trials, 10,304 people given it
Is Albiglutide FDA-approved?
FDA approved 15 April 2014 (Tanzeum, BLA 125431) to control blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Listed as Discontinued in the FDA drug database (Drugs@FDA). The EU approved it as Eperzan in March 2014, and that approval was withdrawn on 29 October 2018 at the company's request.
Can I still get albiglutide?
No. GlaxoSmithKline pulled it from every market. The European approval was withdrawn on 29 October 2018 at the company's request, and the FDA lists Tanzeum as discontinued. It has not been available since 2018.
Why was it withdrawn?
The only reasons on the record are the company's own. The EMA notes that GlaxoSmithKline chose to stop selling it for good, for commercial reasons. Two study registry entries cite business considerations, not quality, safety or effectiveness concerns. No safety problem was found, and its heart study was positive.
Did it reduce heart attacks and strokes?
Yes, in one study. Harmony Outcomes assigned 9,463 people with type 2 diabetes and heart or blood vessel disease to albiglutide or a dummy injection, for a middle value of 1.6 years. A heart death, heart attack or stroke happened to 7 percent on albiglutide, against 9 percent on the dummy. That is a 22 percent lower risk. The maker paid for the study.
How did it compare with liraglutide?
In HARMONY 7, 841 people got weekly albiglutide or daily liraglutide for 32 weeks. Average blood sugar (HbA1c) fell 0.78 points on albiglutide, against 0.99 on liraglutide. Albiglutide failed the test of being no worse. It caused fewer stomach and gut side effects, but more injection site reactions.