[17] A 2011 Cochrane review showed a HbA1c reduction of 0.24% more with liraglutide 1.8 mg compared to insulin glargine, 0.33% more than exenatide 10 μg twice daily, sitagliptin and rosiglitazone.

[20][21] At exposures eight times greater than those used in humans, liraglutide caused a statistically significant increase in thyroid tumors in rats.

[22] In 2013, a group at Johns Hopkins University reported an apparently statistically significant association between hospitalization for acute pancreatitis and prior treatment with GLP-1 derivatives (such as exenatide) and DPP-4 inhibitors (such as sitagliptin).

[27][25] Endogenous GLP-1 has a plasma half-life of 1.5–2 minutes due to degradation by the ubiquitous enzymes, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) and neutral endopeptidases (NEP).

[25] Liraglutide is marketed under the brand name Victoza in the US, UK, UAE, Kuwait, India, Iran, Canada, Europe, Japan and the Philippines.

It has been launched in Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Canada, the United States, France, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Liraglutide is also known to be marketed as Saxenda in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Norway, Czech Republic, Poland,[28] Portugal,[29] South Korea, Switzerland, The United Kingdom and the US, and also as Enligria and Quinliro in Russia.

[35][36] The FDA approved the first generic liraglutide in December 2024, and granted the approval to Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA[12] In 2010, Novo Nordisk breached the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry's (ABPI) code of conduct by failing to provide information about side effects, and by promoting it prior to being granted market authorization.

[37] In 2012, the non-profit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately remove liraglutide from the market because they concluded that risks of thyroid cancer and pancreatitis outweigh any documented benefits.

[38] In 2017, Novo Nordisk agreed to pay $58.65 million to settle multiple whistleblower lawsuits alleging that the company had illegally marketed, promoted, and sold Victoza for off-label uses (such as for type 1 diabetes) in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the False Claims Act.

[39] Novo Nordisk paid an additional $1.45 million to the states of California and Illinois to settle whistleblower cases alleging fraud against private commercial health insurers.