Victoza 2 Pens

What is Victoza?

Victoza is an injectable diabetes medicine that is used together with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults and children 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes.

Victoza is also used to help reduce the risk of serious heart problems such as heart attack or stroke in adults with type 2 diabetes with established cardiovascular disease.

Victoza's mechanism of action involves mimicking a natural hormone called GLP-1, that your body makes after eating. GLP-1 helps control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin when needed, reducing glucose production in the liver, slowing digestion, and decreasing appetite. Unlike your body's natural GLP-1 which works for minutes, Victoza lasts for 24 hours, which means Victoza injections only need to be given 1 time a day.

The generic name for Victoza is liraglutide. Liraglutide comes in 3 FDA-approved forms:

• Victoza: Approved for diabetes treatment only
• Saxenda: Approved for weight loss treatment only
• Liraglutide injection: Approved to lower blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes.

While Victoza may cause weight loss as a side effect, only Saxenda is specifically approved for weight loss (see Can liraglutide be used for weight loss?).

Victoza belongs to the drug class called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which includes other medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Ryebelsus, Trulicity, Saxenda, and Byetta.

Victoza gained FDA approval on January 25, 2010. A Victoza generic is available under the name liraglutide (FDA-approved on December 23, 2024). This generic is only approved for use in Type 2 diabetes.

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