The calcium-lowering counterpart to PTH. Structurally it is Peptide hormone (32 aa).

How strong is the evidence for Calcitonin?

PeptideHormone grades Calcitonin at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.

What is the half-life of Calcitonin?

The reported circulating half-life of Calcitonin is ~10 min.

Is Calcitonin FDA-approved?

Yes — as of September 2026, Calcitonin is an approved prescription medicine in the United States. Salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) approved for Paget's disease, hypercalcaemia and osteoporosis. Status is US-centric and can change; check the FDA record for the current position.

Calcitonin

The calcium-lowering counterpart to PTH.

EndogenousEstablishedFDA-approved

The opposing hand on the same dial. Calcium is held steady by two signals disagreeing, which is how the body holds most things steady.

Identity

Class: Peptide hormone (32 aa)
Source: Thyroid parafollicular (C) cells
Receptor: Calcitonin receptor, a class B GPCR

Key properties

Evidence floorClinicalREF1CLIN1

Molecular weight

~3,417.9 Da

REF

Half-life (native)

~10 min

CLIN

Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone; engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting. Each figure carries its own provenance tier, and the floor is the weakest of them - the Standard.

Mechanism

Calcitonin lowers blood calcium chiefly by inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone resorption, opposing PTH. Its physiological role in adult humans is comparatively modest, but the pathway is pharmacologically useful.

Reference notes

Calcitonin opposes PTH — lowering rather than raising calcium.
It works mainly by restraining osteoclasts (the bone-resorbing cells).
Its everyday role in human calcium balance is smaller than PTH's.

Regulatory status

United States · reviewed September 2026

FDA-approvedCalcitonin is an approved prescription medicine in the United States.

Basis: Salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) approved for Paget's disease, hypercalcaemia and osteoporosis.

Status describes the molecule as a drug substance under US law and is an editorial reading of the public record — approvals, trial registrations, and the FDA 503A bulk-substances list. It is not legal advice and it changes; the review date above is the last time the table was checked. Other jurisdictions are noted only where they differ materially.

Common questions

What is Calcitonin?: The calcium-lowering counterpart to PTH. Structurally it is Peptide hormone (32 aa).
How does Calcitonin work?: Calcitonin lowers blood calcium chiefly by inhibiting osteoclast-mediated bone resorption, opposing PTH. Its physiological role in adult humans is comparatively modest, but the pathway is pharmacologically useful.
How strong is the evidence for Calcitonin?: PeptideHormone grades Calcitonin at the "Established" evidence tier — its mechanism and core effects are settled across the peer-reviewed literature. It is catalogued as an endogenous signal the body produces itself, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.
What is the half-life of Calcitonin?: The reported circulating half-life of Calcitonin is ~10 min.
Is Calcitonin FDA-approved?: Yes — as of September 2026, Calcitonin is an approved prescription medicine in the United States. Salmon calcitonin (Miacalcin) approved for Paget's disease, hypercalcaemia and osteoporosis. Status is US-centric and can change; check the FDA record for the current position.

In the literature

Live registry counts · retrieved 2026-09-15

Registered trialsREF

11913 recruiting

Ph 16
Ph 213
Ph 314
Ph 415

Open on ClinicalTrials.gov

PubMed recordsREF

29,830

Since 20224,032 · 14%

Open on PubMed

Searched as Calcitonin. Counts are search hits from the primary registries, not a curated set and not a grade – a measure of how much work exists on Calcitonin, not how it turned out.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

1.Calcitonin · , 2006 · PMID 29999768
2.Calcitonin · Current medicinal chemistry, 1999 · PMID 10519914

External references

Calcitonin in the public knowledge graph — the same entity resolved across the authoritative chemistry and protein databases.