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Decoding

Calcitonin (salmon)_Dosage, benefits & legal status

Also known as calcitonin-salmon, Miacalcin, Fortical, salcatonin

By the Peptide Decoding Editorial Team

Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 5, 2026

A bone hormone borrowed from salmon, and the weakest option in its own category.

Bone & calciumCalcitonin analogFDA-approved

InHealing and recovery

DoseSet by the label

FrequencyDaily, by spray or injection

RouteAs a nasal spray, or by injection

StatusFDA-approved

MixYour choice, open the Calcitonin (salmon) calculator

CycledSet by the prescription

Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.

See how this dose compares across the library →

What is Calcitonin (salmon)?

Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.

Overview

A bone hormone taken from salmon because the fish version works better in people. It is approved for osteoporosis and it is the least effective option there.

The technical version

Calcitonin-salmon, a synthetic 32-amino-acid calcitonin analog inhibiting osteoclastic bone resorption at the calcitonin receptor. FDA-approved as nasal spray and injectable formulations for postmenopausal osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone and hypercalcaemia. The FDA maintains postmarket drug safety information for calcitonin-salmon products. Efficacy for fracture reduction is modest relative to bisphosphonates and anabolic agents.

What it's used for

A prescription drug for postmenopausal osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone and high blood calcium.

How does Calcitonin (salmon) work?

What it does in the body, and where.

Calcitonin completes the calcium-regulating picture that parathyroid hormone starts, and the salmon detail is not trivia.

01
It opposes parathyroid hormone
Parathyroid hormone raises blood calcium partly by releasing it from bone. Calcitonin does the reverse, inhibiting the osteoclasts that break bone down. Bonothyrk, the parathyroid extract in this library, sits on the other side of the same system.
02
The salmon version is used because it works better in people
Salmon calcitonin binds the human receptor more strongly and lasts longer than human calcitonin, which is why the approved products use it.
03
It is the weakest of the osteoporosis options
Its fracture reduction evidence is modest compared with bisphosphonates, denosumab, or the anabolic drugs like abaloparatide and teriparatide. It is generally reserved for people who cannot take the alternatives.
04
A cancer signal has followed it
Regulators have reviewed a possible association between long term calcitonin use and cancer, and the FDA maintains postmarket safety information for the salmon calcitonin products. That review is part of why its role narrowed.

What else is it used for?

Each use below carries its own evidence level. Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis, in women more than five years past menopauseFDA-approved
Paget's disease of boneFDA-approved
High blood calcium from cancer or other causesFDA-approved
Bone pain relief, where it is used clinicallyClinical use

The published record

Research index

55,788

Papers and trials about Calcitonin (salmon)

200 papers tagged human · 61 not reviews or lab · 11 clinical trial publications

227 registered trials · 11 with posted results

Furthest stage reached: Approved in the US

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Browse the records

In animals237

In the lab27

Reviews40

Senior author shareSpread across many groups

Evidence summary

Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count. 500 papers and 100 trials indexed in detail.

Compound field notes

At a glance

Four things to know about Calcitonin (salmon)

Evidence

FDA-approved

How much, and do you cycle it?

The range, and whether you take breaks.

Set by the label, daily, by spray or injection. Set by the prescription FDA label

This is a prescription drug. Duration and schedule are set by the label and the prescriber, not by a cycling convention.

Compare this against the whole library →

How long does it stay in the body?

The half-life, and where the figure comes from.

18 to 64 minutes, depending on the routeFDA label

Three routes, three figures, all from Miacalcin labeling. About 58 minutes injected into muscle, 59 to 64 minutes under the skin, and about 18 minutes as a nasal spray. The nasal spray also delivers only 3 to 5 percent of what an injection does. The calcium-lowering effect lasts days, far beyond the peptide itself.

Source: Miacalcin injection label section 12.3, DailyMed setid 753ecc6a-07be-4fc6-9032-cc6ad116a662. Miacalcin nasal spray label.

You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.

How do I dose and price it?

Enter your vial and your dose. Pick a mix. We show the draw and the cost.

The vial holds a fixed amount of drug. Adding more water does not make more drug, it just spreads it thinner, so you draw a bigger number on the syringe for the same dose.

Your vial size (mg)

Printed on the vial.

What you paid per vial

Used for cost per dose only.

Your dose (mcg)

Commonly referenced dose: 25 mcgFDA label

Choose your mix

This amount is too small to measure with any of these mixes. Check whether you meant mg or mcg.

Easiest0.5 mL water—units · 20 mg/mL

Half a 100-unit syringe

Easiest1 mL water—units · 10 mg/mL

One full 100-unit syringe

Easiest2 mL water—units · 5 mg/mL

Two full 100-unit syringes

Easiestyour own mL

units · —

Enter your own volume

Measuring the water1 mL = one full 100-unit syringe.

YOUR DRAW0.5 / 100 units

Full calculator with reorder date →Read a syringe →

0.5 units is a very small line to read, so a small slip is a large error. A larger water volume above spreads the same dose across more units.

How do you store it?

Before mixing, and after.

Fridge after opening. Use within about 30 days.

Store sealed Calcitonin (salmon) in the fridge. Once opened, keep it upright in the fridge and plan to finish it inside roughly 30 days. Keep it out of light and do not freeze the liquid.

What are the side effects and cautions?

Known cautions and warnings for this compound.

Solubility, computed: 19% charged residues, 31% hydrophobic. Acid may help.

A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.

Who should avoid it

Check these before anything else.

Known hypersensitivity to calcitonin-salmon
Pregnancy or breastfeeding, without medical advice
Use outside a prescription, where no label governs the dose

Stop and get help

These are emergencies. Seek care.

Signs of an allergic reaction, including facial or throat swelling or trouble breathing
Persistent nosebleeds or nasal ulceration with the spray
Symptoms of low blood calcium, including muscle cramps or tingling around the mouth

Common effects

Expected, and usually mild.

Nasal irritation, dryness or crusting with the spray
Nausea, more common with the injection
Flushing
Injection site reactions

Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.

Is Calcitonin (salmon) approved?

And where the numbers on this page come from.

Yes. Calcitonin (salmon) is FDA approved and available on prescription in the United States.

Approval status
FDA-approved
Route
As a nasal spray, or by injection
Checked
24 August 2026
Dose
From the drug label. The manufacturer tested this range and a regulator reviewed it.
Vial size
From what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
Sources
None traced yet.

What has happened recently

FDA-approved as calcitonin-salmon in nasal spray and injectable formulations for postmenopausal osteoporosis, Paget's disease of bone and hypercalcaemia. The FDA maintains postmarket drug safety information for these products following review of a possible cancer association. Prescription only.

You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.

What else is like Calcitonin (salmon)?

Others in Healing and recovery, side by side.

If you're weighing Calcitonin (salmon), it's worth reading Cerluten, Linaclotide (Linzess), and Nerinetide (NA-1) in the same class.

YOU ARE HERE

Calcitonin (salmon)

A bone hormone borrowed from salmon, and the weakest option in its own category.

FDA-approved

Dose: Set by the label
How often: Daily, by spray or injection

CERLU

Cerluten

A bioregulator for brain and nerve support, with thin evidence.

Research only

Dose: Varies (course-based)
How often: Courses

LINAC

Linaclotide (Linzess)

An approved oral peptide for constipation that works in the gut and barely reaches the blood.

FDA-approved

Dose: 72, 145 or 290 mcg once daily (label)
How often: Once daily

NA1

Nerinetide (NA-1)

A 20-residue peptide built to stop nerve cells dying during a stroke. Over 2,400 patients later, the main results are neutral.

Investigational

Dose: 2.6 mg/kg once, up to 270 mg (trials)
How often: A single dose

Browse recovery-focused compounds

Guides for this compound

How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.

Sources

No primary source has been traced for this compound yet. Treat everything on this page as unverified until one is. How we grade evidence

Beyond these, 600 records are indexed. Browse the records