A once-daily GLP-1 drug approved for type 2 diabetes (Victoza) and weight loss (Saxenda), now sold as generics.
Also called Victoza, Saxenda, Xultophy (with insulin degludec), generic liraglutide, NN2211, NN8022
When Liraglutide's status or evidence changes, it's in the next morning's email.
Liraglutide is a modified copy of GLP-1, the hormone your gut releases after a meal. Novo Nordisk added a 16-carbon fatty acid that makes it bind blood proteins and absorb slowly, so it has a half-life of about 13 hours. That makes it a once-a-day injection. It has been sold as Victoza for type 2 diabetes from 2010 and as Saxenda for weight loss from 2014.
In SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes, 3,731 adults without diabetes lost 8.4 kg on average over 56 weeks on 3 mg a day, against 2.8 kg on placebo. In LEADER, 9,340 people with type 2 diabetes and high heart risk had 13% fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths on liraglutide. In the only head-to-head weight trial, STEP 8, weekly semaglutide beat daily liraglutide by about 9 percentage points of body weight.
Liraglutide is now the cheap, older GLP-1. Generic Victoza has been sold since 2024 and generic Saxenda since August 2025. Novo Nordisk has stopped making Saxenda; FDA's shortage page says the brand is available only until January 2027. The side effects are the usual GLP-1 ones: nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting, plus gallbladder disease, rare pancreatitis and a 2 to 3 beat per minute rise in resting heart rate.
What it binds to, and what happens inside the body after that, step by step.
Liraglutide binds and activates the GLP-1 receptor on pancreatic beta cells, in the stomach and in appetite areas of the brain. It raises insulin and lowers glucagon only when blood sugar is high, so on its own it rarely causes low blood sugar. It slows stomach emptying and lowers appetite, so people eat less.
Human results and animal results are kept apart below. A result in rats tells you a mechanism is plausible. It does not tell you what happens in a person.
Liraglutide has been tested in hundreds of human trials, including large placebo-controlled trials for weight (SCALE), heart outcomes (LEADER) and children (ELLIPSE, SCALE Teens). Average weight loss at 3 mg is about 8% at one year, roughly half of what weekly semaglutide or tirzepatide produce. Heart protection is shown only in people with type 2 diabetes and existing heart disease or high risk.
3,731 adults with obesity or overweight with a weight-related condition, no diabetes
Average loss was 8.4 kg on liraglutide 3 mg vs 2.8 kg on placebo at 56 weeks; 63.2% vs 27.1% lost at least 5% of their weight.
Read the study9,340 adults with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk
Heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death occurred in 13.0% on liraglutide vs 14.9% on placebo over a median 3.8 years (hazard ratio 0.87); cardiovascular death was 22% lower.
Read the study2,254 adults with prediabetes and obesity or overweight
By week 160, 2% on liraglutide vs 6% on placebo were diagnosed with diabetes, and weight change was -6.1% vs -1.9%; about half of participants dropped out.
Read the study338 adults with obesity or overweight, no diabetes
Weight change at 68 weeks was -15.8% on semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly vs -6.4% on liraglutide 3 mg daily.
Read the study251 adolescents aged 12 to 17 with obesity
43.3% on liraglutide vs 18.7% on placebo cut their BMI by at least 5% at 56 weeks; BMI rose again after the drug stopped.
Read the study846 adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity
Weight loss was 6.0% on 3 mg, 4.7% on 1.8 mg and 2.0% on placebo at 56 weeks.
Read the study134 young people aged 10 to 16 with type 2 diabetes on metformin
HbA1c fell 0.64 points on liraglutide and rose 0.42 on placebo at 26 weeks, a difference of 1.06 points.
Read the studyNo preclinical studies are listed as key studies here. The human data above carries the evidence.
When a new Liraglutide study in people is published, the daily email covers it.
These are questions the published research has not answered.
Prescription-only. Not on the WADA Prohibited List and not in WADA's Monitoring Program, which names only semaglutide and tirzepatide. Teva launched an authorized generic of Victoza on June 24, 2024, and FDA approved the first true generic (Hikma) on December 23, 2024. Teva's generic Saxenda, approved in August 2025, was the first generic GLP-1 approved for weight loss. FDA's shortage listing says Saxenda manufacturing has been discontinued. In the EU, Novo Nordisk is withdrawing Victoza for commercial reasons, with the exit due to be complete by December 2026. The suicidal behavior and ideation warning was removed from the Saxenda label in February 2026.
When the FDA or WADA changes Liraglutide's status, it's in the next morning's email.
How much of Liraglutide is left after a single dose
Simple first-order model from the published half-life. Real clearance varies with dose, route, kidney and liver function and formulation. This is not a dosing schedule.
This table records the doses that trials and approved labels used, with the source for each row. It is a record of research, not a recommendation, and it is open to free members.
Which symptoms are expected and which mean stop and get help: side effects and red flags.
Tap a claim to see what the studies found.
In STEP 8, the only head-to-head trial, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg produced 15.8% weight loss at 68 weeks against 6.4% for daily liraglutide 3 mg.
Both are liraglutide at 6 mg per mL. Victoza is labeled for type 2 diabetes up to 1.8 mg a day; Saxenda is labeled for weight loss at 3 mg a day.
LEADER showed 13% fewer heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths, but only in people with type 2 diabetes at high heart risk. No heart outcome trial has tested Saxenda in people with obesity but no diabetes.
It caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rats and mice, which is why it carries a boxed warning and is not used by people with a personal or family history of MTC or MEN 2. The label says human relevance is unknown.
Generic liraglutide from Hikma, Teva and others is FDA-approved and sold under its own label. Compounded products are a different thing: they are not FDA-reviewed for identity or purity.
These pairings come up often. Almost none have been tested together in a trial, and the evidence note on each says so plainly.
A fixed-ratio injection that combines basal insulin with liraglutide, so one shot covers both for type 2 diabetes.
EvidenceFDA-approved as Xultophy 100/3.6. This is a licensed product, not a do-it-yourself stack.
Sometimes discussed as a way to push weight loss further.
EvidenceNever studied together. All three act on the GLP-1 receptor; the labels say not to combine GLP-1 drugs.
Not applicable: liraglutide is supplied as a ready-to-use solution in multi-dose pens.
Before first use, refrigerate at 36 to 46 F (2 to 8 C), never freeze and keep away from the cooling element. After first use, a pen can be kept at 59 to 86 F (15 to 30 C) or in the fridge for 30 days, then thrown away.
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