Is Cotadutide legal in Australia?

A once-daily GLP-1 and glucagon dual agonist that AstraZeneca stopped developing in 2023 for what its own registry entries call strategic pipeline considerations, not safety. It leaves a randomised human record of more than a thousand people across phase 2 trials in type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and biopsy-proven MASH, and it never reached phase 3.

Cotadutide is a synthetic peptide with balanced agonist activity at the GLP-1 receptor and the glucagon receptor, given as a daily subcutaneous injection. It was developed by MedImmune and then AstraZeneca as MEDI0382 for type 2 diabetes with obesity, for diabetic kidney disease and for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (now called MASH).

Mechanism: In people, cotadutide's GLP-1 receptor action produces the familiar effects of the class: enhanced insulin secretion after meals, slower gastric emptying and reduced food intake. 3 percent rise on placebo, postprandial insulin rose, and gastric emptying half-time lengthened by about two hours.

Regulatory history: Never approved anywhere. Development discontinued by AstraZeneca in early 2023 for stated strategic pipeline reasons (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05668936 and NCT05517226). No phase 3 was registered.

Registers or lists therapeutic goods on the ARTG and schedules substances in the Poisons Standard. Many peptides are Schedule 4 (prescription only), so possession without a prescription and personal importation are restricted even when no product is registered.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Therapeutic Goods Administration listings for Cotadutide at the reviewed date, not a legal opinion. Rules change, and importing, prescribing and possessing a compound can each be treated differently. Check the regulator directly before acting on anything here.