Dasiglucagon

Zegalogue

Dasiglucagon is an engineered analog of the hormone glucagon, created to solve a practical problem: native glucagon is chemically unstable in water and clumps into fibrils, which is why traditional rescue kits require mixing a powder with liquid at the moment of an emergency. Dasiglucagon has amino-acid substitutions that make it stable as a ready-to-use aqueous solution, so it can be supplied pre-filled and used immediately. Its approved use (as Zegalogue) is the emergency treatment of severe hypoglycemia — very low blood sugar with impaired consciousness — in people with diabetes, delivered by an autoinjector or pre-filled syringe. Like glucagon, it raises blood glucose by signaling the liver to release stored sugar, with a rapid onset that makes it well suited to rescue. Because it is already in solution, it removes the fumbling and reconstitution steps that can delay help during a frightening episode. Dasiglucagon's stability also opens uses that native glucagon cannot easily support. Because it can be kept in solution, it has been studied for continuous subcutaneous infusion in congenital hyperinsulinism — a rare condition in which infants secrete too much insulin and suffer persistent low blood sugar — and as the glucagon component of experimental bihormonal 'artificial pancreas' systems that deliver both insulin and glucagon. Dasiglucagon is a prescription medicine used under medical supervision. As with glucagon, its glucose-raising effect relies on liver glycogen stores and it treats an emergency rather than replacing ongoing diabetes management.