Metabolic & Weight Management

Exendin-4

Exendin-4 is the 39-amino-acid peptide pulled out of Gila monster venom in 1992, and it is the reason the entire GLP-1 drug class exists. It activates the same receptor as the human gut hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) while shrugging off the enzyme that destroys the human version within minutes: a lizard had solved a stability problem that human physiology had not. Its sequence is identical to exenatide, and that is the whole distinction here. Exenatide is the manufactured, approved form and carries the randomised evidence, while the venom peptide itself was studied in two small early trials that lowered fasting and post-meal glucose over days, with placebo arms but no stated randomisation.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forIncretin research · Glycaemic control research · Beta cell function context

Evidence on file1 randomised human trial · 1 animal study · 1 citation not yet graded

Strongest sourceEffects of Exenatide (Exendin-4) on Glycemic Control and Weight Over 30 Weeks in Metformin-Treated Patients W… (randomised human trial)

Mechanism

Binds the GLP-1 receptor as a degradation-resistant agonist, driving glucose-dependent insulin release from pancreatic beta cells.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Incretin research
Glycaemic control research
Beta cell function context

Dosing on file unverified

5-10 µg BID (as Exenatide); 0.01-0.3 µg/kg single dose

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Half-life, storage & sport

Elimination half-life: ~1.7–1.9 h (mice, SC) — study. Chemical science 2026.

The half-life on file is 1.8 h, measured subcutaneously in mice. On the schedule this record states — twice daily — each dose has fallen to 0.98% of its own peak by the time the next is given. Nothing accumulates, and there is no loading phase to run.

Dosed twice daily over 2 d, each dose normalised to the first peak.

The measurement is not human. It was made in mice, and small mammals clear peptides faster than people do — so this is the fastest plausible shape rather than the expected one.

The rise is not modelled and the axis is not a blood level. No absorption rate constant and no volume of distribution are on file, so each dose appears at full height the instant it is given, and the axis is percent of this compound's own peak.

Literature on file 3

human RCT
Effects of Exenatide (Exendin-4) on Glycemic Control and Weight Over 30 Weeks in Metformin-Treated Patients With Type 2 Diabetes (Diabetes Care 2005, cited 1240x) graded on: names a randomised controlled trial — the indexed publication type — “Randomized Controlled”
animal in vivo
Isolation and characterization of exendin-4, an exendin-3 analogue, from Heloderma suspectum venom. Further evidence for an exendin receptor on dispersed acini from guinea pig pancreas (Journal of Biological Chemistry 1992, cited 823x) graded on: an animal model — “pig”

Not graded

1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

not graded
NCT00035984: A Phase 3, Randomized, Triple-Blind, Parallel-Group, Long-Term, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Study to Examine the Effect on Glucose Control (HbA1c) of AC2993 Given Twice Daily in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treated With Metformin and a Sulfonylurea graded on: NCT00035984 is completed and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT00035984”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Exendin-4, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Exendin-4 — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 4187
Molecular formula: C184H282N50O60S
PubChem CID: 56927919
UniProt: P26349
InChI key: HTQBXNHDCUEHJF-URRANESESA-N
Sequence: HGEGTFTSDLSKQMEEEAVRLFIEWLKNGGPSSGAPPPS
SMILES: CCC(C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CCC(=O)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CNC2=CC=CC=C21)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(=O)N)C(=O)NCC(=O)NCC(=O)N3CCC[C@H]3C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)NCC(=O)N[C@@H](C)C(=O)N4CCC[C@H]4C(=O)N5CCC[C@H]5C(=O)N6CCC[C@H]6C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CC7=CC=CC=C7)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCNC(=N)N)NC(=O)[C@H](C(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H](C)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CCSC)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCCN)NC(=O)[C@H](CO)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CO)NC(=O)[C@H](C(C)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC8=CC=CC=C8)NC(=O)[C@H](C(C)O)NC(=O)CNC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)CNC(=O)[C@H](CC9=CNC=N9)N
InChI: InChI=1S/C184H282N50O60S/c1-16-94(10)147(178(289)213-114(52-58-144(257)258)163(274)218-121(73-101-77-195-105-39-24-23-38-103(101)105)168(279)215-116(68-90(2)3)165(276)205-107(41-26-28-61-186)158(269)219-122(75-134(189)243)154(265)198-79-135(244)196-83-139(248)231-63-30-43-129(231)175(286)225-127(87-238)174(285)223-125(85-236)155(266)200-80-136(245)202-96(12)181(292)233-65-32-45-131(233)183(294)234-66-33-46-132(234)182(293)232-64-31-44-130(232)176(287)222-124(84-235)150(190)261)229-170(281)119(71-99-34-19-17-20-35-99)217-166(277)117(69-91(4)5)214-159(270)108(42-29-62-194-184(191)192)212-177(288)146(93(8)9)228-151(262)95(11)203-156(267)111(49-55-141(251)252)208-161(272)112(50-56-142(253)254)209-162(273)113(51-57-143(255)256)210-164(275)115(59-67-295-15)211-160(271)110(47-53-133(188)242)207-157(268)106(40-25-27-60-185)206-172(283)126(86-237)224-167(278)118(70-92(6)7)216-169(280)123(76-145(259)260)220-173(284)128(88-239)226-180(291)149(98(14)241)230-171(282)120(72-100-36-21-18-22-37-100)221-179(290)148(97(13)240)227-138(247)82-199-153(264)109(48-54-140(249)250)204-137(246)81-197-152(263)104(187)74-102-78-193-89-201-102/h17-24,34-39,77-78,89-98,104,106-132,146-149,195,235-241H,16,25-33,40-76,79-88,185-187H2,1-15H3,(H2,188,242)(H2,189,243)(H2,190,261)(H,193,201)(H,196,244)(H,197,263)(H,198,265)(H,199,264)(H,200,266)(H,202,245)(H,203,267)(H,204,246)(H,205,276)(H,206,283)(H,207,268)(H,208,272)(H,209,273)(H,210,275)(H,211,271)(H,212,288)(H,213,289)(H,214,270)(H,215,279)(H,216,280)(H,217,277)(H,218,274)(H,219,269)(H,220,284)(H,221,290)(H,222,287)(H,223,285)(H,224,278)(H,225,286)(H,226,291)(H,227,247)(H,228,262)(H,229,281)(H,230,282)(H,249,250)(H,251,252)(H,253,254)(H,255,256)(H,257,258)(H,259,260)(H4,191,192,194)/t94?,95-,96-,97?,98?,104-,106-,107-,108-,109-,110-,111-,112-,113-,114-,115-,116-,117-,118-,119-,120-,121-,122-,123-,124-,125-,126-,127-,128-,129-,130-,131-,132-,146-,147-,148-,149-/m0/s1

Notes unverified prose

Exenatide FDA approval; NCT00035984; Phase 1 exendin-4-IgG4-Fc

Not on file 1

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

CAS registry numbernothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.

At a glance

Strongest rung: human RCT
Citations: 3
Regulatory: In or past clinical trials (verified)
Route: Subcutaneous
Declared gaps: 1

Running this

GLP-1 and incretin

How the class is run, with the source of every schedule beside it.

Citations by rung

Strongest wins, never an average.