Description
Victoza is the brand name for liraglutide, a once‑daily, non‑insulin injectable medication used with diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults and children 10 years and older with type 2 diabetes.
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.
How Victoza Works
Mechanism
Victoza is a GLP‑1 receptor agonist that mimics the incretin hormone GLP‑1 to increase glucose‑dependent insulin secretion, slow gastric emptying, and reduce appetite—actions that help lower blood glucose and support weight management as part of a comprehensive plan.
Key Benefits and Clinical Evidence
- Improves glycemic control: Victoza lowers HbA1c when added to diet and exercise.
- Cardiovascular benefit: In adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, Victoza has been shown to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events.
- Once‑daily dosing: Daily administration allows flexible titration to improve tolerability and individualized care.
Dosing and Administration
Typical dosing starts with a low daily dose and is titrated upward to the effective maintenance dose to reduce gastrointestinal side effects. Route: subcutaneous injection in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. Patients should follow the prescribing information and work with their healthcare provider for personalized titration and monitoring.
Victoza comes in 3 doses for people with type 2 diabetes:
- 0.6mg
- 1.2mg
- 1.8mg
The usual starting dose is 0.6mg for one week. After a week of treatment, your dose will increase to 1.2mg if you tolerate the lower dose well.
Each pen contains 3ml of solution or 18mg of Victoza. Your doctor will only increase your dose again if 1.2mg isn’t managing your blood sugar well enough and they’ll regularly check your blood sugar levels throughout treatment to make sure it’s still working.
Below you can find guidance on how long each pen will last (how many doses you have), depending on which dosage you’re currently taking:
| Dosage | Number of doses per pen |
| 0.6mg | 30 |
| 1.2mg | 15 |
| 1.8mg | 10
|
Victoza side effects
The most common side effects of Victoza are:
- nausea
- diarrhea
- vomiting
- decreased appetite
- indigestion and constipation.
Serious side effects and warnings
Victoza carries a Boxed Warning for thyroid C-cell tumors in rats and mice, but it is unknown whether Victoza would cause this type of cancer in humans.
Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Victoza and medicines that work like Victoza caused thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is not known if Victoza will cause thyroid tumors, or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in people.
- Do not use Victoza if you or any of your family have ever had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
- Call your doctor at once if you have signs of a thyroid tumor, such as swelling or a lump in your neck, trouble swallowing, a hoarse voice, or shortness of breath. These may be symptoms of thyroid cancer.
Inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis). Stop using Victoza and call your healthcare provider right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area (abdomen) that will not go away, with or without vomiting. You may feel the pain from your abdomen to your back.
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Your risk of getting low blood sugar may be higher if you use Victoza with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea or insulin. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
- dizziness or light-headedness
- sweating
- confusion or drowsiness
- headache
- blurred vision
- slurred speech
- shakiness
- fast heartbeat
- anxiety, irritability, or mood changes
- hunger
- weakness
- feeling jittery.
Serious allergic reactions. Stop using Victoza and get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction including:
- swelling of your face, lips, tongue or throat
- problems breathing or swallowing
- severe rash or itching
- fainting or feeling dizzy
- very rapid heartbeat.
Kidney problems (kidney failure). In people who have kidney problems, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting may cause a loss of fluids (dehydration) which may cause kidney problems to get worse.
Gallbladder problems. Gallbladder problems have happened in some people who take Victoza. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get symptoms of gallbladder problems, which may include:
- pain in your upper stomach (abdomen)
- fever
- yellowing of skin or eyes (jaundice)
- clay-colored stools.
Food or liquid getting into the lungs during surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation). Victoza may increase the chance of food getting into your lungs during surgery or other procedures. Tell all your healthcare providers that you are taking Victoza before you are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures.
Before taking
You should not use Victoza if you are allergic to liraglutide, Victoza, or any of the inactive ingredients in the Victoza pen. In addition, do not use if you have:
- multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (tumors in your glands)
- a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (a type of thyroid cancer).
Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions before starting Victoza, including if you:
- have or have had problems with your pancreas, kidneys or liver
- have severe problems with your stomach, such as slowed emptying of your stomach (gastroparesis), problems with digesting food, or severe stomach problems
- have type 1 diabetes
- are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation)
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.
Victoza is not approved for use by anyone younger than 10 years old with type 2 diabetes. For cardiovascular risk reduction, it is only approved for adults 18 years and older with type 2 diabetes..
Pregnancy
It is not known if Victoza will harm an unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while using Victoza.
Breastfeeding
It is not known if Victoza passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you should breastfeed while taking Victoza.
How is Victoza Used?
Victoza is a solution for injection available in pre?filled pens (6 mg/ml). Victoza is given by the patient once a day by injection under the skin in the abdomen, thigh or upper arm. It is given independent of meals and preferably at the same time each day.
The starting dose of Victoza is 0.6 mg. After at least one week, the dose is increased to 1.2 mg. In some patients, the dose can be further increased to 1.8 mg one week later to achieve better control of blood glucose.
When Victoza is added to existing treatment containing metformin, thiazolidinedione or a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i), the doses of these medicines do not have to be changed. When Victoza is added to treatment with a sulphonylurea or insulin, the doctor should consider lowering the dose of the other medicine to reduce the risk of having hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose).
The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription. For more information about using Victoza, see the package leaflet or contact your doctor or pharmacist.
- Inject under the skin of your stomach (abdomen), thigh, or upper arm. Do not inject Victoza into a muscle or vein
- Change (rotate) your injection site within the area you choose with each injection to reduce your risk of getting lumps under the skin (cutaneous amyloidosis). Do not use the same site for each injection
- Use Victoza 1 time each day, at any time of the day
- Do not mix insulin and Victoza together in the same injection
- You may give an injection of Victoza and insulin in the same body area (such as your stomach area), but not right next to each other
- Do not share your Victoza pen with other people, even if the needle has been changed. You may give other people a serious infection, or get a serious infection from them
FAQs
- What is Victoza used for
Victoza is used with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults and children 10 years and older with type 2 diabetes. - How often is Victoza given
Victoza is administered once daily by subcutaneous injection. - Does Victoza reduce heart risk
Victoza has evidence showing reduced risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. - Who should not take Victoza
Patients with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2 should not take Victoza due to the boxed warning.
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