Liraglutide Goes Generic: What Generic Victoza and Saxenda Mean

Liraglutide is now available as a generic in the US for both of its uses. Generic Victoza for type 2 diabetes has been sold since 2024. Generic Saxenda for weight management followed in August 2025, the first generic GLP-1 approved for weight loss. Generics can cut the cash price sharply, but liraglutide is still a daily injection with smaller average weight loss than semaglutide or tirzepatide, and coverage depends on which version you're prescribed.

The timeline

Hikma's liraglutide was the second FDA-approved generic GLP-1, after Amneal's generic of exenatide (Byetta) in November 2024. Teva's earlier June 2024 product was an authorized generic, sold under Novo Nordisk's own approval rather than a separate generic approval (Pearce IP).

Sources: Pearce IP; PharmExec; Hikma; Pharmacy Times; Angel One.

Authorized generic versus approved generic

The two Victoza-era products reached the market by different routes. An authorized generic like Teva's 2024 product is the brand drug sold without the brand name; SingleCare describes it as "essentially the same medication as the branded version." An approved generic, like Hikma's, goes through the FDA's abbreviated application process to show it matches the reference product.

For patients, both work the same way at the pharmacy. The difference matters mostly for supply, because each new maker adds another source.

Why the FDA prioritized it

When it approved Hikma's product, the FDA noted an ongoing shortage of liraglutide injection and said it was prioritizing generic applications for drugs in shortage, PharmTech reported. Iilun Murphy, MD, director of the FDA's Office of Generic Drugs, said generic drugs "provide additional treatment options which are generally more affordable for patients."

The market is large. Hikma cited IQVIA data showing about $1.3 billion in US sales of liraglutide 6 mg/mL in the 12 months ending October 2024. Teva cited $165 million in annual Saxenda sales as of June 2025.

Generic Victoza and generic Saxenda are not the same prescription

Victoza and Saxenda contain the same drug at the same concentration, 6 mg/mL in a 3 mL pen. They are still separate products, and so are their generics.

Sources: Victoza prescribing information (rev. 10/2025); Saxenda prescribing information (rev. 02/2026).

Both labels say not to combine liraglutide products with each other, and the Saxenda label adds other GLP-1 drugs to that list. A pharmacist can usually substitute a generic for its own reference brand, but generic Victoza is not a stand-in for a Saxenda prescription. A generic Victoza pen also cannot dial the 2.4 mg or 3 mg doses used for weight management.

What generics have done to price

Teva's generic Saxenda announcement did not include a price, and no published list price for it was found. Verifiable figures exist for generic Victoza. In a SingleCare check dated March 18, 2026 (ZIP code 23666, three 18 mg/3 mL pens):

Source: SingleCare, updated March 28, 2026. Prices vary by pharmacy and location.

The gap between the undiscounted generic price and the discounted price is the story. Generic liraglutide's cash price without a discount card was close to brand, but discount card prices fell to a fraction of it. Discount cards apply to cash purchases and generally can't be combined with insurance.

For comparison, Ro's guide lists Saxenda's brand list price at $1,349.02 per month, citing Novo Nordisk, in a guide last updated January 2025. A three-pen box of Victoza covers a month at 1.8 mg, but Saxenda's 3 mg maintenance dose uses more drug per day, so the same number of pens covers fewer days. Compare prices per month of treatment at your actual dose, not per box.

How liraglutide compares on results

Cost is half the decision. The other half is how much weight loss to expect. In liraglutide's main obesity trial, SCALE, people on liraglutide 3 mg lost an average of 8.4 kg over 56 weeks versus 2.8 kg on placebo, a difference of 5.6 kg (NEJM, 2015). In STEP 1, semaglutide 2.4 mg produced 14.9% average weight loss over 68 weeks versus 2.4% on placebo, a 12.4-point difference (NEJM, 2021). The trials enrolled different populations, so this isn't a head-to-head result, but the gap is large.

The Saxenda label builds in a check: adults who haven't lost at least 4% of their body weight after 16 weeks should stop, and adolescents are assessed by BMI 12 weeks after reaching the maintenance dose. A low-cost generic that doesn't work for you is not a bargain.

Liraglutide is also injected daily, while semaglutide and tirzepatide injections are weekly. The oral options, the Wegovy pill and Foundayo, are daily pills with their own self-pay prices. Lilly lists Foundayo at $149 to $299 a month self-pay as of October 2026.

Coverage: what to check

• Diabetes coverage: Plans that cover Victoza for type 2 diabetes may prefer the generic now that one exists. Ask whether your plan has moved brand Victoza to a higher tier.
• Weight management coverage: Many plans exclude obesity drugs entirely. If yours does, a generic Saxenda doesn't change that; you'd be paying cash.
• Medicare: Medicare has historically not covered obesity drugs, Ro notes. That has started to shift for some brands: Lilly says some Medicare Part D patients may pay $50 for Foundayo starting July 1, 2026. Whether a given plan covers generic Saxenda is plan-specific.
• Manufacturer savings: Brand savings cards typically don't apply to generics. Ask the pharmacy about the generic maker's own programs.

If you're switching from brand to generic

A generic approved against its reference brand is expected to work the same way at the same dose. The safety label is the same, including the boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumors and the contraindication for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2, per the Saxenda label. Pen design and instructions can differ between makers, so read the instructions that come with the pen you receive, and ask the pharmacist to walk through it if it looks different.

The rest of the safety profile carries over too. Coverage of Hikma's approval listed the same warnings as the brand: pancreatitis, low blood sugar, kidney problems, and gallbladder disease, with nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting as the most common side effects, per PharmExec. A lower price doesn't mean a milder drug. Starting at 0.6 mg and stepping up slowly, as both labels direct, is how the side effects are managed whether the pen is brand or generic.

The age rules also carry over. Generic Victoza follows Victoza's type 2 diabetes indication from age 10. Generic Saxenda follows Saxenda's weight-management indication for adolescents 12 and older who weigh more than 60 kg, where the label allows escalation over up to 8 weeks.

Sources

1. PharmTech: First generic of a GLP-1 injection gets FDA nod (Dec. 2024)
2. PharmExec: FDA approves Hikma generic GLP-1 for type 2 diabetes
3. Hikma: FDA approval and launch of generic Victoza
4. Teva press release: FDA approval and launch of generic Saxenda (Aug. 28, 2025)
5. Pharmacy Times: FDA approves generic liraglutide for weight loss
6. Pearce IP: Biocon's generic liraglutide injection FDA approved (Feb. 2026)
7. Angel One: Biocon receives USFDA approval for liraglutide for chronic weight management
8. Victoza prescribing information, Novo Nordisk
9. Saxenda prescribing information, Novo Nordisk
10. SingleCare: Victoza generic and prices
11. Ro: Generic Victoza (liraglutide)
12. Pi-Sunyer X et al. A randomized, controlled trial of 3.0 mg of liraglutide in weight management (SCALE). NEJM 2015
13. Wilding JPH et al. Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity (STEP 1). NEJM 2021
14. LillyDirect: Foundayo pricing
15. Fierce Healthcare: Lilly launches Foundayo across US

Medical disclaimer: This article is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace a licensed clinician who knows your history. Approvals, labels, coverage and prices change; check the linked sources and talk with your prescriber or pharmacist before making decisions about any medication.