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Read this Medication Guide before you start using VICTOZA and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This information does not take the place of talking to your healthcare provider about your medical condition or your treatment.
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What is the most important information I should know about VICTOZA?
VICTOZA may cause serious side effects, including:
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Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Tell your healthcare provider 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, VICTOZA and medicines that work like VICTOZA caused thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is not known if VICTOZA will cause thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in people.
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- Do not use VICTOZA if you or any of your family have ever had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
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What is VICTOZA?
VICTOZA is an injectable prescription medicine used:
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- along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar (glucose) in adults and children who are 10 years of age and older with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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- to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke or death in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus with known heart disease.
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- VICTOZA is not recommended for people who take liraglutide or other medicines called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.
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- It is not known if VICTOZA is safe and effective to lower blood sugar (glucose) in children under 10 years of age.
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Who should not use VICTOZA?
Do not use VICTOZA if:
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- you or any of your family have ever had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
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- you have had a serious allergic reaction to liraglutide or any of the ingredients in VICTOZA. See the end of this Medication Guide for a complete list of ingredients in VICTOZA. See “What are the possible side effects of VICTOZA?” for symptoms of a serious allergic reaction.
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What should I tell my healthcare provider before using VICTOZA?
Before using VICTOZA, tell your healthcare provider if you have any other medical conditions, including if you:
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- have or have had problems with your pancreas.
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- have severe problems with your stomach, such as slowed emptying of your stomach (gastroparesis) or problems with digesting food.
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- are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation).
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- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if VICTOZA will harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while using VICTOZA.
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- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if VICTOZA passes into your breast milk. You should talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby while using VICTOZA.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. VICTOZA may affect the way some medicines work and some medicines may affect the way VICTOZA works.
Before using VICTOZA, talk to your healthcare provider about low blood sugar and how to manage it. Tell your healthcare provider if you are taking other medicines to treat diabetes, including insulin or sulfonylureas.
Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
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How should I use VICTOZA?
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- Read the Instructions for Use that comes with VICTOZA.
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- Use VICTOZA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to.
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Your healthcare provider should show you how to use VICTOZA before you use it for the first time.
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- Inject your dose of VICTOZA under the skin (subcutaneously) of your stomach (abdomen), thigh, or upper arm. Do not inject VICTOZA into a muscle (intramuscularly) or vein (intravenously).
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Use VICTOZA 1 time each day, at any time of the day.
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- If you miss a dose of VICTOZA, take the missed dose at the next scheduled dose. Do not take 2 doses of VICTOZA at the same time.
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- VICTOZA may be taken with or without food.
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Donot mix insulin and VICTOZA together in the same injection.
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- You may give an injection of VICTOZA and insulin in the same body area (such as your stomach area), but not right next to each other.
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- Change (rotate) your injection site with each injection. Do not use the same site for each injection.
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Do not share your VICTOZA pen with other people, even if the needle has been changed. You may give other people a serious infection or get a serious infection from them.
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- If you take too much VICTOZA, call your healthcare provider or the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.
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- The VICTOZA pen you are using should be thrown away 30 days after you start using it.
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What are the possible side effects of VICTOZA?
VICTOZA may cause serious side effects, including:
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See “What is the most important information I should know about VICTOZA?”
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inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis). Stop using VICTOZA and call your healthcare provider right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area (abdomen) that will not go away, with or without vomiting. You may feel the pain from your abdomen to your back.
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low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Your risk for getting low blood sugar may be higher if you use VICTOZA with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar, such as a sulfonylurea or insulin. In children who are 10 years of age and older, the risk for low blood sugar may be higher with VICTOZA regardless of use with another medicine that can also lower blood sugar.
Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
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- dizziness or light-headedness
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- sweating
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- confusion or drowsiness
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- headache
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- blurred vision
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- slurred speech
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- shakiness
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- fast heartbeat
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- anxiety, irritability, or mood changes
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- hunger
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- weakness
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- feeling jittery
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dehydration leading to kidney problems. Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting may cause a loss of fluids (dehydration) which may cause kidney problems. It is important for you to drink fluids to help reduce your chance of dehydration. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea that does not go away.
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severe stomach problems. Stomach problems, sometimes severe, have been reported in people who use VICTOZA. Tell your healthcare provider if you have stomach problems that are severe or will not go away.
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serious allergic reactions. Stop using VICTOZA and get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction including:
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- swelling of your face, lips, tongue or throat
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- problems breathing or swallowing
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- severe rash or itching
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- fainting or feeling dizzy
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- very rapid heartbeat
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gallbladder problems. Gallbladder problems have happened in some people who take VICTOZA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get symptoms of gallbladder problems which may include:
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- pain in your upper stomach (abdomen)
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- fever
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- yellowing of skin or eyes (jaundice)
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- clay-colored stools
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food or liquid getting into the lungs during surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation). VICTOZA may increase the chance of food getting into your lungs during surgery or other procedures. Tell all your healthcare providers that you are taking VICTOZA before you are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures.
The most common side effects of VICTOZA may include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, indigestion and constipation.
Talk to your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of VICTOZA.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
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General information about the safe and effective use of VICTOZA.
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use VICTOZA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give VICTOZA to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you have. It may harm them. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider for information about VICTOZA that is written for health professionals.
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What are the ingredients in VICTOZA?
Active ingredient: liraglutide
Inactive ingredients: disodium phosphate dihydrate, propylene glycol, phenol and water for injection. Hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide may be added to adjust pH
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Manufactured by: Novo Nordisk A/S, DK-2880 Bagsvaerd, Denmark Victoza® is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S.
For more information, go to victoza.com or call 1-877-484-2869. PATENT Information: http://novonordisk-us.com/patients/products/product-patents.html
© 2025 Novo Nordisk
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- This Medication Guide has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Revised: 05//2025
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