Victoza is used:
- on its own when use of metformin (another medicine for type 2 diabetes) is not recommended;
- as an ‘add-on’ to other diabetes medicines.
Victoza contains the active substance liraglutide.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas does not make enough insulin to control the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood or when the body is unable to use insulin effectively. The active substance in Victoza, liraglutide, is an ‘incretin mimetic’. This means that it acts in the same way as incretins (hormones produced in the gut) by increasing the amount of insulin released by the pancreas in response to food. This helps with the control of blood glucose levels.
The European Medicines Agency decided that Victoza’s benefits are greater than its risks and recommended that it be given marketing authorisation.
