Glucagon — EU research guide.
Glucagon is insulin's counter-hormone — the emergency rescue treatment for severe hypoglycemia, and increasingly a research target as a co-agonist ingredient in next-generation obesity drugs like survodutide.
What is Glucagon?
Secreted by pancreatic alpha cells, glucagon raises blood glucose by triggering the liver to release stored sugar — the opposite action to insulin. As an emergency injection or nasal spray, it rapidly reverses severe hypoglycemia in people with diabetes.
Research context
Beyond its rescue-drug role, glucagon receptor co-activation is now deliberately engineered into obesity drugs such as survodutide and efinopegdutide, since burning liver and fat stores adds to GLP-1's appetite-suppressing effect — provided the glucagon dose is kept low enough to avoid raising blood sugar.
EU legal status
EMA-approved prescription medicine for emergency hypoglycemia treatment (injectable and nasal formulations); also available as a research-grade peptide.
Molecular information
Pharmacokinetics
Glucagon-pathway compounds across EU suppliers
COA-verified EU vendors · Updated monthly