What is Saxenda®?
Saxenda® (liraglutide) injection 3 mg is an injectable prescription medicine used for adults with excess weight (BMI ≥27) who also have weight-related medical problems or obesity (BMI ≥30), and children aged 12-17 years with a body weight above 132 pounds (60 kg) and obesity to help them lose weight and keep the weight off. Saxenda® should be used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity.
- Saxenda® and Victoza® have the same active ingredient, liraglutide, and should not be used together or with other GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines
- It is not known if Saxenda® is safe and effective when taken with other prescription, over-the-counter medicines, or herbal weight-loss products
- It is not known if Saxenda® is safe and effective in children under 12 years of age
- It is not known if Saxenda® is safe and effective in children aged 12 to 17 years with type 2 diabetes
Do not share your Saxenda® pen with others even if the needle has been changed. You may give other people a serious infection or get a serious infection from them.
What is the most important information I should know about Saxenda®?
Serious side effects may happen in people who take Saxenda®, including:
Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Tell your health care professional if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath. These may be symptoms of thyroid cancer. In studies with rats and mice, Saxenda® and medicines that work like Saxenda® caused thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is not known if Saxenda® will cause thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in people.
Do not use Saxenda® if you or any of your family have ever had MTC, or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
Who should not use Saxenda®?
Do not use Saxenda® if:
you have had a serious allergic reaction to liraglutide or any of the ingredients in Saxenda®. See symptoms of serious allergic reactions in “What are the possible side effects of Saxenda®?”
you or any of your family have ever had MTC or if you have MEN 2
