Short answer: Glucagon has a half-life of about 32 minutes (Gvoke); about 35 minutes (Baqsimi). Levels peak 50 minutes (Gvoke); about 15 minutes (Baqsimi) after a dose. People vary, so treat these as estimates.
Glucagon is the pancreas hormone that raises blood sugar by making the liver release stored sugar. Lab-made glucagon is a rescue medicine for severe low blood sugar in people with diabetes, given by someone else when the person cannot safely eat or drink. It is sold as Gvoke, a ready-to-use injection, and Baqsimi, a powder sprayed into the nose.
Also known as: Gvoke, Baqsimi, nasal glucagon.
Gvoke is a ready-to-use solution in a 0.5 mg/0.1 mL or 1 mg/0.2 mL HypoPen auto-injector, a 1 mg/0.2 mL prefilled syringe and a 1 mg/0.2 mL vial and syringe kit. Baqsimi is a single-use nasal device holding 3 mg of glucagon powder. Each device holds one dose.
The Gvoke label approves it to treat severe low blood sugar in adults and children 2 and older with diabetes, injected under the skin of the lower belly, outer thigh or outer upper arm: 1 mg for ages 12 and up, and for ages 2 to under 12, 0.5 mg under 45 kg or 1 mg at 45 kg or more. The Baqsimi label approves it for ages 1 and older: one 3 mg dose into one nostril, which does not need to be inhaled. Both labels say to call for emergency help right away, and if there is no response after 15 minutes, a second dose may be given from a new device. They are rescue doses, not scheduled medicines. A separate IV form, Gvoke VialDx, is used in adults as a diagnostic aid during radiology exams.
Neither label has a boxed warning. Glucagon is not used with pheochromocytoma (an adrenal tumor, where it can spike blood pressure) or insulinoma (a pancreas tumor, where it can trigger a later low), and it may not work in people with low liver sugar stores, such as with starvation, adrenal insufficiency or long-lasting low blood sugar. Nausea and vomiting are common: with Gvoke 1 mg in adults, nausea affected 30% and vomiting 16%; with Baqsimi, nausea 26%, headache 18% and vomiting 15%, and many reported watery eyes and nasal congestion when asked. See side effects of Gvoke and Baqsimi, dosing for Gvoke and Baqsimi, how to store glucagon, Baqsimi vs Gvoke and the glossary entry for glucagon.
The Gvoke label says a 1 mg injection under the skin in adults with type 1 diabetes peaked at 50 minutes and had a half-life of 32 minutes. The Baqsimi label says nasal glucagon peaked at around 15 minutes with a median half-life of about 35 minutes in adults (10 to 20 minutes and 21 to 31 minutes in children). Glucagon is broken down in the liver, kidneys and blood.
Numbers shown are taken from the source above. Half-life varies from person to person.
How Dose Track handles peptides · Reconstitution calculator · Half-life calculator