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GLP-1

Liraglutide

Prepared by the ezGLP team. Sources last checked . Profile reviewed .

Routes represented in the knowledgebase: Subcutaneous (SubQ).

Educational overview

FDA-approved prescription medicine for diabetes and chronic weight management; carries thyroid C-cell tumor and other serious warnings.

Liraglutide is an acylated analogue of human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) developed by Novo Nordisk and sold as Victoza for type 2 diabetes and Saxenda for weight management. It shares about 97 percent of the native GLP-1 sequence, with one amino-acid substitution and a palmitic acid chain attached through a glutamic acid spacer. That fatty acid promotes self-association at the injection site and binding to albumin in plasma, slowing absorption and degradation and giving a half-life of roughly 13 hours, which is the basis for once-daily injection. Receptor activation increases glucose-dependent insulin secretion, lowers glucagon, delays gastric emptying and reduces appetite.

Liraglutide was the first GLP-1 analogue with a large cardiovascular outcome trial. LEADER, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016, randomised 9340 adults with type 2 diabetes and high cardiovascular risk and reported fewer deaths from cardiovascular causes and fewer major adverse cardiovascular events than placebo over a median of 3.8 years. For obesity, the SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes trial randomised 3731 adults for 56 weeks and reported mean weight loss of about 8 percent of body weight against about 3 percent on placebo. Later trials extended the evidence to adolescents with obesity and to children with type 2 diabetes.

In the United States the FDA approved Victoza for type 2 diabetes in 2010 and Saxenda for chronic weight management in 2014, later extending both to defined paediatric populations; the European Medicines Agency authorised the same two products centrally. Both labels carry a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodents and list medullary thyroid carcinoma and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 as contraindications. Because the original patents have expired, liraglutide differs from the newer incretins in one respect: the FDA approved the first generic once-daily liraglutide injection in December 2024, and further abbreviated applications have followed.

Storage and in-use limits are set by each product label. Multi-dose pens are refrigerated before first use and then carry a labelled in-use period, stated in days, after which the pen is discarded whether or not solution remains; brand and generic presentations state their own figures and needle requirements. A generic pen is therapeutically equivalent to its reference product but may differ in device design and in the wording of its storage section. Recording the product name, manufacturer or pharmacy, strength, lot number and first-use date in an inventory record keeps a dose log reconcilable against whichever presentation was actually dispensed.

Category
GLP-1
Routes represented
Subcutaneous (SubQ)
Approximate library half-life
13 hours; formulation-dependent and not dosing guidance
Storage context
Follow the dispensed product label; storage and in-use limits vary by brand and formulation.
Authoritative overview

Published literature

No verified PubMed or DOI link is available for this entry.

Safety evidence

Common or reported: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain or indigestion, decreased appetite.

Serious or important: pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, dehydration-related kidney injury, severe GI reactions, hypoglycemia with insulin or secretagogues, hypersensitivity.

Product labels also carry thyroid C-cell tumor warnings.

Safety evidence source

Interaction evidence

These are general, pairwise evidence notes. Green identifies the potential-synergy category, while Lv3/Lv2/Lv1 communicates evidence strength; it does not guarantee benefit or cancel a safety warning.

With insulin or insulin secretagogues

Safety flag

Combined glucose lowering increases hypoglycemia risk, including severe hypoglycemia.

Interaction evidence source

With another GLP-1 receptor agonist

Safety flag

Weight-management labels say coadministration with the same active ingredient or another GLP-1 receptor agonist is not recommended.

Interaction evidence source

With narrow-index or threshold-dependent oral medicines

Safety flag

Delayed gastric emptying can alter the timing or extent of oral-drug absorption.

Interaction evidence source

With Pramlintide

Safety flag

Additive gastric-emptying delay, GI intolerance, and glucose lowering are plausible; a broad clinical contraindication is not established.

Interaction evidence source

Common questions

How long does liraglutide stay in the body?

The reported elimination half-life is about 13 hours after subcutaneous injection, which is why the approved products are labelled for once-daily administration rather than weekly. Concentrations reach steady state within a few days of continued treatment, and the drug is largely cleared within roughly three days of a final injection. Albumin binding and self-association at the injection site produce that duration.

What is the difference between Victoza and Saxenda?

Both are liraglutide from Novo Nordisk, and the difference is the approved indication and the strength of the pen. Victoza is approved for glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes, while Saxenda is approved for chronic weight management alongside diet and physical activity. Saxenda pens deliver higher amounts per injection than Victoza pens. Each has its own label, and the two are not interchangeable presentations.

Is there a generic version of liraglutide?

Yes. Liraglutide is the first GLP-1 receptor agonist to reach generic status. The FDA announced approval of the first generic of the once-daily liraglutide injection referencing Victoza in December 2024, and additional abbreviated new drug applications have been approved since. A generic is reviewed as therapeutically equivalent to its reference product, which distinguishes it from compounded GLP-1 preparations, which are not FDA-approved.

How does liraglutide compare with semaglutide?

Both are acylated GLP-1 analogues from the same manufacturer, but semaglutide has a longer fatty diacid chain and a substitution that resists dipeptidyl peptidase-4, extending its half-life from hours to about a week. Head-to-head trials in type 2 diabetes and in obesity have generally reported larger reductions in HbA1c and body weight with semaglutide. Liraglutide is administered daily; semaglutide injections are weekly.

What are the side effects of liraglutide?

The labels list nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, dyspepsia and abdominal pain as the most common adverse reactions, generally most pronounced when the dose is increasing. They also describe pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, acute kidney injury after dehydration, hypersensitivity reactions, raised heart rate, and hypoglycaemia when insulin or a sulfonylurea is prescribed alongside. A boxed warning covers rodent thyroid C-cell tumours whose human relevance has not been established.

Further reading

Tools for your existing schedule

These free calculators use values you supply. They do not recommend Liraglutide, select a dose, or establish a route of administration.

Schedule calendar calculator

Preview and print dose dates and total supply for a schedule, including dose changes you enter yourself.

Supply duration calculator

Estimate how many full doses you have left and when your supply will run out, using your own dose and frequency.

For ongoing records, see ezGLP’s schedule, inventory, and wellness tracking features.

Summarised from published literature for reference only, with citations to the source. Evidence is graded as reported and is not a recommendation to combine, dose, or use any compound.

For personal tracking and education only. Not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and not a medical device. Peptides may be prescription-only or unapproved where you live. Consult a licensed healthcare professional.