Pharmacology & biology
Analog
Also known as: analogue · peptide analog · peptide analogue
A deliberately modified version of a natural peptide, altered to change its stability, potency, or duration.
In plain terms
Native GLP-1 has a half-life of a couple of minutes. Semaglutide is a GLP-1 analog engineered — via an amino acid substitution and a fatty-acid chain that binds albumin — to last about a week. Same receptor, radically different drug.
The word "analog" is doing a lot of work in marketing copy. An analog is not the natural molecule, and safety data for one analog does not automatically transfer to another.
Compounds where this comes up
Educational reference only. Pepperz does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, prescribing guidance, or dosing recommendations.