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Gut & neuroendocrine

Teduglutide

A GLP-2 analogue that helps people with short bowel syndrome reduce dependence on intravenous nutrition.

L5Practice-changingApproved — narrow indicationApprovedHigh confidenceLast reviewed 2026-08-23
SC injection

Also known as: Gattex, Revestive

Evidence passport

Last reviewed 2026-08-23

Evidence level
L5Practice-changing
Confidence
High confidence
Human efficacy
80/100
Human safety
75/100
Regulatory status
Approved — narrow indication
Development
Approved
Routes
SC injection
Evidence base
Includes human data
Furthest stage
Approved
Source curation
Sources fully curated
Clinical maturity
Approved orphan medicine with randomised trial support

Overview

Human evidence80/100
Preclinical evidence75/100
Human safety evidence75/100

Clinical maturity: Approved orphan medicine with randomised trial support

Routes & formulations

Studied / approved routes

SC injection

The approved product is a daily subcutaneous injection under its label.

Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.

Peptide lifecycle

  1. Discovery

  2. Preclinical

  3. Phase I

  4. Phase II

  5. Phase III

  6. Approved

Approved

What it is

A synthetic analogue of GLP-2, the gut hormone that promotes intestinal growth and absorption — engineered to resist rapid breakdown.

What people claim

  • Reduces parenteral nutrition dependence in short bowel syndrome

What the evidence actually says

Randomised controlled trials demonstrated reduced parenteral-support requirements in short bowel syndrome. It is also a standing illustration of this registry's core point: GLP-2 is not GLP-1, and the incretin family's name similarity causes real confusion.

Human evidence

  • Randomised, placebo-controlled trials in parenteral-support-dependent short bowel syndrome.

Preclinical evidence

  • GLP-2 receptor biology and intestinal-adaptation models.

Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.

Mechanism and pathways

  • GLP-2 receptor agonism promotes intestinal mucosal growth and nutrient absorption.

Safety and unknowns

  • The label carries a warning about potential acceleration of neoplastic growth and requires colonoscopic surveillance — a monitored, labelled risk.
  • Gastrointestinal obstruction and fluid-overload events are also labelled considerations.

Cancer relevance

Monitored in trials; not demonstrated in humans

Because GLP-2 promotes intestinal growth, the label warns of potential acceleration of neoplastic growth and mandates screening. That is a labelled, monitored risk in a defined patient group — not proof that it causes cancer in all users, and not a reason to generalise to healthy people.

Regulatory status

FDA-approved (Gattex) for adults and paediatric patients with short bowel syndrome who are dependent on parenteral support. Approval is specific to that orphan indication.

Evidence grade

L5Practice-changingHigh confidence

Replicated large randomised trials, pivotal Phase 3 programmes, or a major regulatory decision.

What would change our rating?

  • Long-term registry data on the labelled neoplasia surveillance question.

References and sources

Sources fully curated

Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.

Evidence change history

No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-08-23.