Victoza and Saxenda are both made with liraglutide. They are the same medicine with two FDA labels for different uses. Victoza is for type 2 diabetes in adults and in children aged 10 and older. It is also approved to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart-related death in adults with type 2 diabetes who already have heart or blood vessel disease. Saxenda is for weight management in adults with obesity, or with overweight and a health problem linked to weight. It is also for children aged 12 and older who have obesity and weigh more than 60 kg (about 132 pounds).
Each label lists the side effects seen in its own placebo-controlled trials. The tables below copy those numbers. Placebo means a shot with no medicine in it. A problem in a table is not proof that the medicine caused it.
The two tables come from separate trials. The Victoza trials enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes and lasted at least 26 weeks. The Saxenda trials enrolled adults with obesity or overweight and lasted 32 to 56 weeks, some up to about 3 years, and 15% of them had type 2 diabetes. Different people and different trial lengths can change how often a problem is reported. So the gap between the two tables is not a test of one label against the other.
The boxed warning on both labels
Victoza and Saxenda (liraglutide): Both labels have a boxed warning, FDA's strongest kind. Liraglutide caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rats and mice. It is not known whether it causes them in people, including medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). People with a personal or family history of MTC, or with a condition called MEN 2, must not use it. The labels list signs of a thyroid tumor to watch for: a lump in the neck, trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, or hoarseness that does not go away.
Stopping because of stomach and bowel problems
- Victoza label: in the diabetes trials, 4.3% of adults on Victoza stopped because of stomach or bowel problems, compared with 0.5% on placebo. Most stops for stomach and bowel problems came in the first 2 to 3 months.
- Saxenda label: in the weight trials in adults, 6.2% on Saxenda stopped because of stomach or bowel problems, compared with 0.8% on placebo.
Compare each number with its own placebo number, not with the other label.
Victoza vs Saxenda: side effect tables
The Victoza label lists problems that it counted as more common than on placebo and that reached 5%. Its middle column shows the lowest and highest share across two Victoza dose groups, so one group can be under 5% or equal to placebo. The Saxenda label lists problems in at least 2% of adults on Saxenda that were more common than on placebo. Its table here shows the ones that reached 5%.
A problem missing from one table may still have happened. The Saxenda label also lists acid reflux, bloated belly, burping, gas, and trouble sleeping, among others. They are in the less common table on the liraglutide page. In the Victoza trials, shot-site reactions such as rash or redness were reported by about 2% of adults on Victoza. The label gives no placebo number for it, and it comes from different trials than the Saxenda table.
Low blood sugar is only in the Saxenda table. That row comes from one trial of adults with type 2 diabetes who were not taking insulin. The Victoza label reports it separately.
In the Victoza label's 5 placebo-controlled trials, 8 people on Victoza had low blood sugar that needed another person's help. 7 of them were taking a diabetes medicine called a sulfonylurea. In one Saxenda trial of adults with type 2 diabetes, 3 of 422 people on Saxenda needed another person's help, all taking a sulfonylurea. No one on placebo in that trial did. In another Saxenda trial, of adults who also took insulin, 3 of 195 people on Saxenda and 2 of 197 on placebo needed another person's help.
The Victoza label gives no placebo number for its count. In the first Saxenda trial, sulfonylurea doses were cut in half at the start. So these counts cannot be compared across the labels.
The labels warn that low blood sugar may be more likely when liraglutide is taken with insulin or a sulfonylurea.
Compare each Victoza or Saxenda number with its own placebo number.
Victoza label
Victoza trials in adults with type 2 diabetes At least 26 weeks each
Adults with type 2 diabetes in 5 trials. The table counts 1,669 adults on Victoza in two dose groups and 661 on placebo.
| Reported problem | Victoza groups | Placebo |
|---|---|---|
| Nausea | 18% to 20% | 5% |
| Diarrhea | 10% to 12% | 4% |
| Headache | 10% to 11% | 7% |
| Colds (nose and throat infections) | 9% to 10% | 8% |
| Vomiting | 6% to 9% | 2% |
| Less hunger | 9% to 10% | 1% |
| Indigestion (dyspepsia) | 4% to 7% | 1% |
| Upper airway infections | 6% to 7% | 6% |
| Constipation | 5% | 1% |
| Back pain | 4% to 5% | 3% |
Source for Victoza trials in adults with type 2 diabetes: Victoza prescribing information on DailyMed , label revised .
Saxenda label
Saxenda trials in adults with obesity or overweight 32 to 56 weeks, some up to about 3 years
Adults with obesity or overweight in 5 trials. 3,384 got Saxenda and 1,941 got placebo. 15% had type 2 diabetes. Everyone also got advice on diet and exercise.
| Reported problem | Saxenda | Placebo |
|---|---|---|
| Nausea | 39.3% | 13.8% |
| Diarrhea | 20.9% | 9.9% |
| Constipation | 19.4% | 8.5% |
| Vomiting | 15.7% | 3.9% |
| Reactions where the shot was given | 13.9% | 10.5% |
| Headache | 13.6% | 12.6% |
| Low blood sugar (only people with type 2 diabetes were counted) | 12.6% | 6.6% |
| Indigestion (dyspepsia) | 9.6% | 2.7% |
| Tiredness (fatigue) | 7.5% | 4.6% |
| Dizziness | 6.9% | 5.0% |
| Belly pain | 5.4% | 3.1% |
| High lipase, a pancreas enzyme, in blood tests | 5.3% | 2.2% |
| Upper belly pain | 5.1% | 2.7% |
Source for Saxenda trials in adults with obesity or overweight: Saxenda prescribing information on DailyMed , label revised .
What these numbers do not show
- These tables come from separate trials with different people, so they cannot be compared directly.
- Each label lists more warnings than these tables show, such as pancreatitis and gallbladder problems. The Saxenda label also warns about a faster heart rate. The full tables, notes, and warnings are linked below.
- Each label says not to use its medicine with another product made with liraglutide, so the labels do not support using Victoza and Saxenda together. The Saxenda label also does not recommend using it with any other GLP-1 medicine.
- The labels also list problems reported after approval, such as pancreatitis that can be deadly, blocked bowels, and kidney injury. How often these happen is not known.
- There are rare reports of people on GLP-1 medicines breathing stomach contents into the lungs during surgery or deep sedation. Both labels say to tell the care team before any planned surgery or procedure.
- Each label covers its own uses. Ask the prescriber before changing, stopping, or combining any of these medicines or other diabetes medicines.
- Trials can miss rare harms and harms that take years to appear.
- These numbers describe Victoza and Saxenda. They do not describe compounded liraglutide or products sold online as research liraglutide.
Common questions
What is the generic name of Saxenda?
Saxenda's generic name is liraglutide. A generic name is the name of the medicine itself, not the name of a product. Victoza is also made with liraglutide. Victoza is for type 2 diabetes, and Saxenda is for weight management. Compounded liraglutide and products sold online as research liraglutide are not these brands, and these label numbers do not describe them.
Can Victoza and Saxenda be used together?
The labels do not recommend it. Both labels say using liraglutide with another liraglutide product is not recommended. The Saxenda label also does not recommend using it with any other GLP-1 medicine. Ask the prescriber before changing or combining these medicines.
Full tables, notes, and warnings
Report a side effect
You can report a suspected side effect to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or through FDA MedWatch . If a reaction feels serious, get medical care first.
Other label comparisons
- Zepbound vs Wegovy: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Mounjaro vs Ozempic: side effects in the type 2 diabetes labels
- Mounjaro vs Zepbound: the same medicine in the diabetes and weight labels
- Ozempic vs Wegovy: the same medicine in the diabetes and weight labels
- Saxenda vs Zepbound: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Victoza vs Mounjaro: side effects in the type 2 diabetes labels
- Victoza vs Ozempic: side effects in the type 2 diabetes labels
- Saxenda vs Wegovy: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Forteo vs Tymlos: side effects in the osteoporosis labels