Peptide Graded

All peptides / Hormones

Albiglutide

GLP-1 receptor agonist

Also Tanzeum, Eperzan, GSK716155

Evidence
AStrong human evidence
FDA status
FDA approvedas of 2026-10-26
Route
Injection
Studies cited
2 human0 animal or cell

It was a weekly shot for type 2 diabetes. Large trials showed it lowered blood sugar and cut heart attacks and strokes, but the maker pulled it from sale in 2018.

Sold for

Albiglutide is talked about mainly as the GLP-1 drug that proved cardiovascular benefit and was then pulled from the market anyway.

Studies say

Large randomized trials showed it lowered blood glucose and cut major cardiovascular events by about a fifth in people with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, which is grade A evidence for a drug nobody can buy.

Why grade A. Approval for type 2 diabetes rested on the HARMONY phase 3 programme of randomized trials, and the HARMONY OUTCOMES trial later randomized 9,463 patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease, showing fewer major cardiovascular events than placebo. Those are large randomized trials with hard endpoints, which is grade A for glucose control and cardiovascular risk reduction. 12

FDA. Albiglutide was FDA-approved in April 2014 as Tanzeum, a once-weekly injection for adults with type 2 diabetes. GlaxoSmithKline withdrew it from the market in 2018 for commercial reasons, not safety, so the approval exists but no product is sold. 13

Written from 3 cited sources. Fact-checked 2026-10-27: 14 claims checked, 3 corrected. Last refreshed 2026-10-27. Not physician reviewed.

What this means for you

What people take it for
Controlling blood sugar in type 2 diabetes
Can a US doctor prescribe it?
Yes, FDA approved for type 2 diabetes, but it is no longer sold.
Properly tested in people?
Yes, in large controlled trials. One trial followed 9,463 people.

Evidence checklist

  • Randomised controlled trial HARMONY programme; HARMONY OUTCOMES RCTyes
  • Human study over 100 people HARMONY OUTCOMES, 9,463 patientsyes
  • More than one research group Article does not say who ran the trialsno information
  • Clinical outcomes, not surrogate markers Fewer major cardiovascular events than placeboyes
  • Human safety data beyond case reports Large trials; pancreatitis rate similar to placeboyes

Drawn from the cited studies below. A dash means the sources give no information.

What it is

Albiglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist. It fuses two copies of a modified GLP-1 peptide to human albumin, the main protein in blood plasma. The albumin gives it a half-life of about five days. That is long enough for once-weekly dosing. 1

GlaxoSmithKline sold it as Tanzeum in the United States and Eperzan in Europe, starting in 2014. In 2017 the company said it would stop selling the drug, and supplies ran out in 2018. The reason was commercial. Albiglutide lowered glucose less than liraglutide in a head-to-head trial, and it had a small share of the market. 13

How it works

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a gut hormone released after meals. Drugs that activate its receptor raise insulin release when glucose is high. They also suppress glucagon, slow stomach emptying and reduce appetite. Albiglutide does all of these. But it is a large molecule, so little of it reaches the brain. That may explain why it caused less weight loss and less nausea than smaller GLP-1 drugs. 1

What human research shows

The HARMONY phase 3 programme tested albiglutide against placebo and against other diabetes drugs in several thousand patients. It lowered HbA1c, the three-month average glucose measure, and caused modest weight loss. In direct comparisons it was less potent than liraglutide. 1

HARMONY OUTCOMES was published in The Lancet in 2018. It randomized 9,463 adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease to albiglutide or placebo. Researchers followed them for a median of 1.6 years. The main outcome was cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke. It occurred in 7% of the albiglutide group and 9% of the placebo group, a hazard ratio of 0.78. The result met the test for superiority as well as non-inferiority. 2

StudyModelFinding
HARMONY OUTCOMES, Lancet 2018Humans, n=9,463 with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, randomized double-blind placebo-controlled, median 1.6 yearsMajor adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 7% with albiglutide versus 9% with placebo (hazard ratio 0.78), meeting superiority. 2
HARMONY phase 3 programme reviewHumans, several randomized trials pooled in reviewAlbiglutide lowered HbA1c versus placebo with modest weight loss but was less potent than liraglutide in direct comparison. 1

Safety

The commonest side effects were injection-site reactions, nausea, diarrhoea and upper respiratory infections. Stomach and gut effects were less frequent than with liraglutide in head-to-head trials. In HARMONY OUTCOMES, serious adverse events and pancreatitis rates did not differ meaningfully from placebo. 12

Like other GLP-1 drugs, albiglutide carried a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodents. No human cases were confirmed. The drug was withdrawn after four years on the market. So long-term data after approval are thinner than for drugs still in use. 13

Questions for your clinician

  • Why is this drug no longer sold, and what do similar GLP-1 drugs offer instead?
  • Do the heart benefits seen here apply to the medicine I take now?
  • Does the thyroid tumour warning apply to me?

Questions people ask

Is albiglutide FDA-approved?

It was approved in 2014 for type 2 diabetes. The approval was never revoked for safety reasons. The manufacturer stopped selling Tanzeum in 2018, so it is not available. 13

Why was Tanzeum withdrawn?

GlaxoSmithKline cited commercial reasons. The drug lowered glucose less than liraglutide in a head-to-head trial, and sales were low. The heart benefit shown in HARMONY OUTCOMES was published after the company had decided to withdraw it. 23

Did albiglutide reduce heart attacks and strokes?

Yes. In 9,463 patients with diabetes and existing heart disease, it cut the combined rate of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke by 22% compared with placebo. The median follow-up was 1.6 years. 2

Can I get albiglutide from a compounding pharmacy?

No. The albumin-fusion protein is made by recombinant biotechnology. A compounding pharmacy cannot produce it. No generic or biosimilar exists. 1

Citations

  1. Fala 2015, Am Health Drug Benefits: Tanzeum (albiglutide), a once-weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for type 2 diabetes pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Hernandez 2018, Lancet: HARMONY OUTCOMES, albiglutide and cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes doi.org
  3. Drugs.com: Tanzeum (albiglutide) discontinuation drugs.com

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