Liraglutide
GLP-1 receptor agonist peptide medicine.
Editorial review: August 13, 2026Evidence snapshot
This drawer marks papers. It is not a plan, a dose, or a source. A paper is a bounded report. It is not a protocol. Grades name the object. They are not a safety rating.
Approved-indication papers below are about specific labeled product–use pairs (Victoza-class type 2 diabetes objects; Saxenda-class chronic weight-management objects). They do not travel to semaglutide, tirzepatide, an unlabeled use, or a vial that is not the trial product. Liraglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist. It is not semaglutide and not tirzepatide.
Bottom line
Liraglutide has large, labeled human programs for type 2 diabetes (including cardiovascular outcomes in LEADER) and for chronic weight management in adults with overweight or obesity (SCALE). Mark which labeled object each paper tests. A SCALE weight paper is not a Victoza glycemic paper. A STEP 8 comparison to semaglutide is a head-to-head weight trial, not proof that the two products are interchangeable for every use.
Papers
Approved indication — chronic weight management (SCALE / Saxenda-class object)
PMID 26132939 — Pi-Sunyer 2015 (SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes)
Tested: daily injectable liraglutide versus placebo for body weight in adults with overweight or obesity, without type 2 diabetes (SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes).
Does not show: a type 2 diabetes treatment claim, a different GLP-1 product, or a non-trial preparation.
PMID 26284720 — Davies 2015 (SCALE Diabetes)
Tested: daily injectable liraglutide versus placebo for weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes (SCALE Diabetes).
Does not show: weight effect in people without diabetes (that is SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes), or a glycemic-label substitute for LEAD/LEADER.
PMID 25311036 — Wadden 2015 (SCALE Maintenance)
Tested: daily injectable liraglutide versus placebo for weight maintenance and further weight change after low-calorie-diet-induced weight loss (SCALE Maintenance).
Does not show: induction-only obesity treatment without the diet run-in object this trial used.
PMID 27005405 — Blackman 2016 (SCALE Sleep Apnea)
Tested: daily injectable liraglutide versus placebo in adults with obesity and moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea (SCALE Sleep Apnea).
Does not show: OSA treatment in people without the obesity enrollment, or that sleep-apnea change is the primary chronic-weight label.
PMID 28237263 — le Roux 2017 (SCALE, 3-year prediabetes extension)
Tested: daily injectable liraglutide versus placebo over three years for weight management and for type 2 diabetes onset as a studied outcome in adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity.
Does not show: that diabetes-risk reduction is interchangeable with the chronic-weight labeled claim, or a result outside this SCALE population.
PMID 19853906 — Astrup 2009
Tested: early randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled obesity trial of daily injectable liraglutide (phase 2–style weight program preceding SCALE).
Does not show: the later confirmatory SCALE phase 3 set by itself.
PMID 21844879 — Astrup 2012
Tested: longer follow-up on safety, tolerability, and sustained weight change with daily injectable liraglutide in obesity.
Does not show: a substitute for the pivotal SCALE phase 3 reports.
Approved indication — type 2 diabetes (Victoza-class object)
PMID 18819705 — Garber 2009 (LEAD-3 Mono)
Tested: liraglutide versus glimepiride monotherapy for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (LEAD-3 Mono, phase 3).
Does not show: a chronic-weight SCALE claim, or an obesity-without-diabetes population.
PMID 19515413 — Buse 2009 (LEAD-6)
Tested: once-daily liraglutide versus twice-daily exenatide for type 2 diabetes (LEAD-6).
Does not show: that every GLP-1 agonist is interchangeable, or a Saxenda-class weight claim.
PMID 27295427 — Marso 2016 (LEADER)
Tested: liraglutide versus placebo for major adverse cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk (LEADER).
Does not show: a cardiovascular claim in people without type 2 diabetes, or a SCALE obesity-without-diabetes cardiovascular claim.
Comparator (not a liraglutide monotherapy label)
PMID 35015037 — Rubino 2022 (STEP 8)
Tested: once-weekly injectable semaglutide versus daily injectable liraglutide for body weight in adults with overweight or obesity, without diabetes.
Does not show: that liraglutide equals semaglutide for every use, or that a non-trial liraglutide preparation matches either arm.
What is not established
A paper on one labeled pair is not a protocol for another use, another GLP-1, or a non-trial preparation. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are separate drawers. Compounded, research-use, or analog products were not the SCALE/LEAD/LEADER objects. “General weight-loss glow” across unlabeled vials is not what these papers test.
Selected sources
26132939 26284720 25311036 27005405 28237263 19853906 21844879 18819705 19515413 27295427 35015037
Reported experiences
Blood sugar, appetite, weight
Reported topics are not established benefits.Risks and unknowns
Gastrointestinal effects, dehydration, gallbladder and pancreatic concerns
Compare experiences with care.
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