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Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda)

Also known as Victoza, Saxenda and NN2211.

Approved in the US and the EU for type 2 diabetes and weight management. What a thyroid tumor finding in rodents means for people is still unresolved.

HisAlaGluGlyThrPheThrSerAspValSerSerTyrLeuGluGlyGlnAlaAlaLysGluPheIleAlaTrpLeuValArgGlyArgGly
31 amino acids, in order. A double ring marks a mirror-image, modified or non-standard one. End caps, bridges and anything attached to the chain are not drawn. Source: PubChem.
Human evidence
Grade A

Large trials

Completed randomized trials
6+

The plus sign marks a floor: the record counts more trials than it lists.

Approved?
US and EU

Approved in the US and the EU

Sport (WADA)
Not named

Not named on WADA's list. That is not clearance.

Checked on .

How we count a trial
Short answer

As of September 2026, liraglutide is an approved medicine in the US and the EU for type 2 diabetes and weight management. In the US the weight-management approval extends to adolescents aged 12 and older. The FDA approvals cover Victoza and Saxenda. A vial sold as liraglutide that reached you another way is a separate question, and you cannot tell from the outside what it holds.

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What is liraglutide?

Liraglutide is a lab-made peptide that mimics GLP-1, a gut hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite. Novo Nordisk developed it, and the record calls it one of the first long-acting GLP-1 drugs. The FDA approved it in 2010 as Victoza for type 2 diabetes and in 2014 as Saxenda for weight management.

Does liraglutide work?

For type 2 diabetes and weight management, the FDA reviewed the trials and approved it. In 2020 the FDA extended the weight-management approval to adolescents aged 12 and older.

What we found. 6+ completed randomized trials counted on the record. 3 study rows listed below, so the number shows with a plus sign until every trial is listed.

Studies on the liraglutide record: each study, what it was tested in, its status and what it shows.
SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes randomized trial (NEJM)PeoplePublished. The basis for the Saxenda approvalSignificant weight loss compared with placebo over 56 weeks in adults with obesity
SCALE Diabetes randomized trial (JAMA)PeoplePublished. A main approval trialWeight loss and a blood sugar benefit in people with type 2 diabetes
Randomized trial of liraglutide in adolescents with obesity (NEJM)PeoplePublished. The basis for the 2020 approval in adolescentsLower BMI than placebo in adolescents aged 12 to 17
How we count a trial

Is liraglutide safe?

The record names nausea and other stomach and gut side effects, gallbladder disease and a risk of pancreatitis. It carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodent studies. After more than a decade of monitoring, no confirmed signal has emerged in people. What the rodent finding means for people is still unresolved. Everything in this section is about Victoza and Saxenda. The vial section asks about a vial with another origin.

What is in a vial sold as liraglutide?

The trials above tested Novo Nordisk's own product. This record holds no sign that liraglutide is sold outside pharmacies. A vial that reached you some other way was not in those trials, and the checklist lists what to ask the seller.

What don't we know?

  • What the rodent thyroid tumor finding means for people. No confirmed human signal has emerged.
  • Whether thyroid cancer rates differ in people who use it. Long-term tracking data would settle that.
  • What is in any vial that did not come from a pharmacy.

The other side

Victoza and Saxenda come with a prescription and a doctor's care, and more than a decade of use stands behind them. In that time no confirmed thyroid signal has emerged in people. The boxed warning remains, and the rodent finding behind it is still unresolved.

What would change this record?

  • Long-term data from use after approval that look directly at thyroid cancer rates.

Change log

  • Record checked. No change logged yet.
Every change on the Table

Three questions to ask next

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More questions about liraglutide

Is Saxenda the same as liraglutide?

Saxenda is one of two brand names for liraglutide. The other is Victoza.

What is liraglutide approved for?

In the US: type 2 diabetes as Victoza and weight management as Saxenda. The record says the EMA approved it for equivalent uses.

Is liraglutide approved for teenagers?

In the US, yes, for weight management. In 2020 the FDA extended that approval to adolescents aged 12 and older.

Does liraglutide cause thyroid cancer?

Nobody knows for people. Rodent studies showed thyroid C-cell tumors. After more than a decade of monitoring, no confirmed human signal has emerged.

Is liraglutide banned in sport?

It is not named on WADA's list. That is not clearance. This record links no WADA document. If you compete, check the current List.
Sources

Record checked on . Each source shows the date it was checked.

Metabolic and weight

In the same group

All 12 in this group
Still curious

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