Glucagon 1mg/0.2ml solution for injection pre-filled disposable devices
Mammalian peptide hormone found in human, mouse, and rat
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Glucagon
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Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Glucagon
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
This is the NHS Drug Tariff indicative price used for reimbursement purposes. It may not reflect the price paid by patients or pharmacies.
View full Drug TariffSource: NHS Drug Tariff via NHSBSA. Derived from dm+d VMPP (Virtual Medicinal Product Pack) pricing data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
1 mg
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via the NHS dm+d supplementary BNF/ATC mapping files (NHSBSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(9)
Macimorelin for diagnosing growth hormone deficiency (MIB320)
Diabetes (type 1 and type 2) in children and young people: diagnosis and management (NG18)
Ertugliflozin with metformin and a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor for treating type 2 diabetes (TA583)
Type 2 diabetes: insulin degludec/liraglutide (Xultophy) (ESNM60)
Diabetes in pregnancy: management from preconception to the postnatal period (NG3)
Tirzepatide for treating type 2 diabetes (TA924)
Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management (NG17)
Dapagliflozin in combination therapy for treating type 2 diabetes (TA288)
Type 2 diabetes in adults: management (NG28)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 42 · Randomised trials: 1 · 1999–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Zin Z. Htike, F. Zaccardi, D. Papamargaritis, et al.
Diabetes, 2017
C. Verdich, A. Flint, J. Gutzwiller, et al.
The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 2001
A. Jorsal, C. Kistorp, Pernille Holmager, et al.
European Journal of Heart Failure, 2017
Jessica Potts, L. Gray, E. Brady, et al.
PLoS ONE, 2015
Zhikai Zheng, Yao Zong, Yiyang Ma, et al.
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy, 2024
D. Drucker
Cell metabolism, 2018
T. Müller, Brian Finan, S. Bloom, et al.
Molecular Metabolism, 2019
D. Drucker
Cell metabolism, 2016
A. Andersen, A. Lund, F. Knop, et al.
Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2018
T. Müller, Brian Finan, Christoffer Clemmensen, et al.
Physiological reviews, 2017
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
26 minutes
Mechanism
Glucagon binds to the glucagon receptor activating Gsα and Gq.
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
3 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
1mg
[L7637]…
Half-life
26 minutes
[L7634]…
Protein binding
[A181649][A181667][L7634][L7637][L7640][L7643][L7658]
Volume of distribution
0.25L/kg
[L7637]
The apparent volume of distribution is 885L.
[L7643]
Metabolism
[L7634][L7643]
Elimination
30%
[A181649]…
Clearance
1mg
[L7637]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Glucagon was granted FDA approval on 14 November 1960.[L7631]
[L7634][L7637][L7640][L7643][L8519]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 188 interactions
[L7634][L7637][L7640][L7643]
Phentolamine may be given to control blood pressure.
[L7634][L7637][L7640][L7643]
Treatment of glucagon overdose is largely symptomatic for nausea, vomiting, and hypokalemia.
[L7637]
The LD50 for intravenous glucagon in mice is 300mg/kg and in rats is 38.6mg/kg.
[L7637]
Glucagon also relaxes smooth muscle of the stomach, duodenum, small bowel, and colon.[L7634][L7643]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L7637]
An intramuscular dose reaches a Cmax of 6.9ng/mL with a Tmax of 13 minutes.
[L7637]
A 3mg dose of glucagon nasal powder reaches a Cmax of 6130pg/mL with a Tmax of 15 minutes.
[L7643]
[L7634]
The half life of glucagon nasal powder is approximately 35 minutes.
[L7643]
The half life of glucagon by a subcutaneous auto-injector or pre-filled syringe is 32 minutes.
[L8519]
[A181649][A181667][L7634][L7637][L7640][L7643][L7658]
[L7637]
The apparent volume of distribution is 885L.
[L7643]
[L7634][L7643]
[A181649]
The liver and kidney are responsible for approximately 30% of glucagon elimination each.
[L7658]
[L7637]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
Ligand binding causes a conformation change that triggers signaling via guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) and modulates the activity of down-stream effectors, such as adenylate cyclase. Promotes activation of adenylate cyclase. Besides, plays a role in signaling via a phosphatidylinositol-calcium second messenger system
PMID:19861722 PMID:26308095 PMID:27196125 PMID:28514449 PMID:7517895 PMID:8216285 PMID:8405712
Ligand binding triggers activation of a signaling cascade that leads to the activation of adenylyl cyclase and increased intracellular cAMP levels .
PMID:19861722 PMID:26308095 PMID:27196125 PMID:28514449 PMID:7517895 PMID:8216285 PMID:8405712
Plays a role in regulating insulin secretion in response to GLP-1 (By similarity)
ATC H04AA01
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Glucagon
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
12072
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
11363
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4192
GenAtlas
GCGR
GeneCards
GCGR
GenBank Gene Database
U03469
GenBank Protein Database
439690
Guide to Pharmacology
251
UniProt Accession
GLR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4325
GenAtlas
GLP2R
GeneCards
GLP2R
GenBank Gene Database
AF105367
GenBank Protein Database
4324491
Guide to Pharmacology
250
UniProt Accession
GLP2R_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4324
GenAtlas
GLP1R
GeneCards
GLP1R
GenBank Gene Database
U01104
GenBank Protein Database
405082
Guide to Pharmacology
249
UniProt Accession
GLP1R_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications:
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q170617), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.