At a glance

Uses

What liraglutide is used for

Liraglutide has two brand names with two sets of approved uses. Victoza is for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes, with diet and exercise, in adults and in children 10 and older. It also reduces the risk of major cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke) in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease.

Saxenda is for weight. It is approved alongside a lower calorie diet and more physical activity, for adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related condition, and for children 12 and older who weigh more than 60 kg and have obesity. The labels advise against using two liraglutide products together, or liraglutide with another GLP-1 drug.

For most adults who want weight treatment today, weekly drugs are easier to use and tend to show larger average changes in separate trials. See semaglutide and tirzepatide, or take the quiz. Liraglutide still makes sense for some people, for example when a daily routine is acceptable, when it is covered, or when other drugs have not been tolerated.

How it works

How liraglutide works and how it is given

Liraglutide copies GLP-1, a gut hormone released after meals. It raises insulin when blood sugar is high, lowers glucagon, slows stomach emptying and acts on appetite centers in the brain. People generally feel full sooner and think about food less.

It is injected once a day under the skin with a prefilled pen. Treatment starts low and increases in steps to limit nausea. Pens are never shared between people, even with a new needle. Your prescription and the pen instructions give the exact steps. This page does not give amounts.

Evidence

What the trials showed

The main weight trial, SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes, was a 56-week, double-blind study of 3,731 adults without diabetes. All patients also received lifestyle counseling.

A three-year trial in adults with prediabetes found that 2 percent of those on liraglutide were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, compared with 6 percent on placebo. About half the participants left before week 160, so those results need care in reading.

Averages hide a lot. Some people respond strongly and others little. Trials of different drugs, run in different populations, are not directly comparable. Weight tends to return after stopping any of these medicines.

Safety

Boxed warning, side effects and who should not use it

Both labels carry the same boxed warning. Liraglutide causes thyroid C-cell tumors in rats and mice. It is not known whether it does so in humans. It should not be used by anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2.

Other warnings include pancreatitis, which means stopping the drug if it is suspected, and acute gallbladder disease, which can occur especially with weight loss. The labels also warn about low blood sugar when it is combined with insulin or sulfonylureas, and about kidney injury from dehydration.

Common effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and headache. These tend to be worst during dose increases and ease over time. Eating smaller meals and stopping at fullness helps.

Regulatory status

Compounded liraglutide and the ‘essentially a copy’ limit

Liraglutide is a component of FDA-approved drugs, Victoza and Saxenda. That meets the first test for use in compounding. It also triggers the second rule. Under the FDA’s January 2018 guidance, a 503A pharmacy may not regularly compound a drug that is essentially a copy of a commercially available drug.

A compounded version is not a copy if the prescriber documents a significant difference for an identified patient, such as a needed change in a dosage form or an ingredient the patient cannot tolerate. That decision belongs to the prescriber, patient by patient. Because approved liraglutide products are on the market, this limit is a real one, not a technicality.

Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. The FDA does not evaluate them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are sold. This page describes the FDA-approved products unless it says otherwise. For a comparison of brand and compounded GLP-1 products, read compounded versus brand-name GLP-1.

Summit’s role

What Summit does with liraglutide

Dr. Miranda prescribes liraglutide after a physician evaluation. Dr. Miranda can prescribe the FDA-approved product, filled by a pharmacy, or a compounded preparation from an independent, state-licensed pharmacy when a documented clinical reason supports it. Summit does not dispense or sell it, and it keeps no stock in the office.

Nothing on this page promises a prescription. If liraglutide does not fit your history, labs and goals, you will hear why. See pricing for what the program includes, including labs.

Keep reading

Related medications

Sources

Where this comes from

All retrieved November 10, 2026.

1. VICTOZA (liraglutide) injection prescribing information. DailyMed. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=5a9ef4ea-c76a-4d34-a604-27c5b505f5a4
2. SAXENDA (liraglutide) injection prescribing information. DailyMed. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=3946d389-0926-4f77-a708-0acb8153b143
3. Pi-Sunyer X et al. A Randomized, Controlled Trial of 3.0 mg of Liraglutide in Weight Management. N Engl J Med 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26132939/
4. le Roux CW et al. 3 years of liraglutide versus placebo for type 2 diabetes risk reduction and weight management in individuals with prediabetes. Lancet 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28237263/
5. FDA. Compounded Drug Products That Are Essentially Copies of a Commercially Available Drug Product Under Section 503A. Guidance, January 2018. https://www.fda.gov/media/98973/download