HomePeptides › Liraglutide

Liraglutide

Victoza, Saxenda

Tier 1 · FDA Approved
Class
GLP-1 receptor agonist
Molecular target
GLP-1 receptor
Sequence / structure
GLP-1(7-37) analog, Arg34, C16 palmitoyl at Lys26
Evidence tier
Tier 1 — FDA Approved
Category
Metabolic & Incretin
Emergency card
Signs something is wrong

Severe, persistent pain in the upper abdomen — often boring through to the back — with nausea and vomiting that will not stop. That is the pancreatitis pattern.

What to do now

Stop and seek medical assessment. Persistent vomiting also dehydrates and strains the kidneys — sip fluids.

When it is an emergency

Unrelenting abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, or signs of dehydration → urgent care or ER. And tell any anaesthetist before surgery: these drugs slow stomach emptying and raise the risk of aspiration under anaesthesia.

Any injection — every time

Allergic reaction: hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, wheezing or dizziness can escalate to anaphylaxis within minutes — call 911 immediately. Site infection: spreading redness, heat, swelling, pus or fever is not wait-and-see; an abscess or cellulitis can need drainage or IV antibiotics. Unverified product: grey-market vials are frequently mislabelled or contaminated, so a reaction may be to endotoxin or the wrong contents, not the named compound.

This is not permission or instruction to use this compound. It is harm-reduction information for someone who has already decided to, so that a bad reaction is recognised and treated. When in doubt, get help — embarrassment is survivable.

Biology & mechanism

A first-generation acylated GLP-1 analog. A palmitic acid chain confers albumin binding and a roughly 13-hour half-life, permitting daily dosing. Mechanism otherwise parallels semaglutide: glucose-dependent insulin secretion, glucagon suppression, delayed gastric emptying, central appetite reduction.

What the research actually shows

LEAD programme in type 2 diabetes; SCALE programme in weight management; LEADER reported cardiovascular outcomes. A mature evidence base, now largely superseded in potency by later agents.

Regulatory status

FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management. Prescription-only. Generic versions have entered the market.

Safety signals

Boxed warning for rodent thyroid C-cell tumours. Gastrointestinal effects; pancreatitis and gallbladder signals. Physician supervision required.

Clinical trial dosing — what the studies actually used

Type 2 diabetes (Victoza): titrated to 1.2–1.8 mg once daily SC. Weight management (Saxenda): titrated to 3.0 mg once daily SC. FDA-label regimens.

Reported from clinical trials or FDA labelling as a matter of record. It is not a recommendation, and for unapproved compounds no dose has been shown safe or effective in humans.

We report study doses, not protocols

Above is what was administered in trials or on FDA labels, reported as fact. We do not convert it into a personal protocol, calculate a dose for your body weight, or tell you what to inject or how to reconstitute it — that decision belongs with a licensed physician. See our editorial policy.

References & further reading

Regulatory status changes. This page reflects our reading of public sources as of July 2026 and should be independently verified before it is relied upon.

Important notice Forge Bioenergy publishes scientific reference information only. Nothing on this site is medical advice, a therapeutic claim, or a recommendation to use any substance in humans. Many peptides described here are not approved by the FDA for any use, and several are approved only for narrow indications under prescription. We do not publish dosing, administration, or usage protocols. Consult a licensed physician before making any medical decision.