Liraglutide Dosage: The FDA Label Schedules, Step by Step
Liraglutide dosage exactly as the FDA labels state it: daily titration for Saxenda and Victoza, maintenance dose, missed-dose rules, and the week-16 stopping rule.
The short version
Liraglutide is injected once daily, not once weekly, and the two brands titrate to different targets. Saxenda climbs over 4 weeks to a 3 mg daily maintenance dose for weight management. Victoza titrates over a shorter run to 1.2 mg or 1.8 mg daily for type 2 diabetes. Both schedules come from the FDA-approved label, and Saxenda also has a built-in stopping rule at week 16.
- Saxenda: 0.6 mg daily, stepping up weekly to 1.2, 1.8, 2.4 mg, reaching 3 mg daily maintenance in week 5.
- Victoza: 0.6 mg daily for 1 week, then 1.2 mg, with an optional step to 1.8 mg after at least 1 more week.
- Saxenda's label calls for stopping the drug if a patient has not lost at least 4% of body weight by week 16. It is a built-in checkpoint, not an open-ended trial.
- Both are once-daily injections because liraglutide has a roughly 13-hour half-life. Miss a day and there is no week-long buffer, as there is with semaglutide.
Liraglutide dosage means two once-daily schedules on two FDA labels, titrating to different maintenance targets for Saxenda and Victoza. This page gives both exactly as the labels state them. For what liraglutide is approved for, why it’s dosed daily instead of weekly, and its boxed warning and full adverse-reaction profile, see the liraglutide guide.
US legal status - FDA-approved · prescription only
Liraglutide is FDA-approved as Saxenda and Victoza, each with its own label and dosing schedule below. It requires a prescriber, who titrates and adjusts the dose for an individual patient.
AU legal status - TGA-registered · prescription only
Liraglutide is Schedule 4 of the Poisons Standard - prescription only.
Regulators reach their own conclusions on their own timelines. Where these two disagree, the difference is the point - not an error.
Saxenda (weight management), weekly titration
| Week | Daily dose |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.6 mg |
| 2 | 1.2 mg |
| 3 | 1.8 mg |
| 4 | 2.4 mg |
| 5 onward | 3 mg (maintenance) |
Pediatric patients (12 and older) may take up to eight weeks to complete the titration. Those who do not tolerate 3 mg may maintain at 2.4 mg instead.
Victoza (type 2 diabetes), dose-as-needed titration
| Step | Dose |
|---|---|
| Start | 0.6 mg once daily for 1 week |
| Week 2 | Increase to 1.2 mg once daily |
| If needed | Increase to 1.8 mg once daily, at least 1 week after reaching 1.2 mg |
Pediatric patients (10 and older) follow the same 0.6 mg starting dose. They increase in 0.6 mg steps after at least one week on the current dose, up to a 1.8 mg maximum.
How it’s injected
Both labels describe the same administration. Inject subcutaneously in the abdomen, thigh or upper arm, once daily, at any time of day, independent of meals. Rotate the injection site within the same region to reduce the risk of cutaneous amyloidosis. Never mix liraglutide with insulin in the same injection. The label calls for separate injections even when both are used.
Missed-dose rules
Both labels give the same rule: resume the once-daily schedule with the next dose, and do not take an extra dose to make up for a missed one. If more than 3 days have passed since the last dose, both labels call for restarting at the 0.6 mg starting dose. Then titrate upward again, rather than resuming at the maintenance dose.
What is not established
There is no FDA-reviewed dose for liraglutide outside these labelled schedules. A “research” vial with dosing instructions printed on a sheet of paper has not gone through the review that produced the schedules above. Nothing on this page describes or endorses dosing such a product.
Who should not use it
- Anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 is contraindicated. This comes from the boxed warning, covered in full on the liraglutide guide.
- Anyone with a known hypersensitivity to liraglutide or its excipients should also not use it. The label documents serious hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema.
Risks to watch for during titration
Gastrointestinal effects are the most common adverse reaction: nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting. They are most likely right after a dose increase, which is why the titration climbs gradually instead of starting at the maintenance dose.
The full adverse-reaction tables for both brands are on the liraglutide guide. So are the less common but more serious risks: pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, hypoglycaemia with insulin or a sulfonylurea, and kidney injury from dehydration.
When to stop and get medical care
Seek emergency care (call 911 in the US) for any of these:
- Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction: swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, difficulty breathing, or fainting.
- Severe or persistent abdominal pain that may signal pancreatitis.
- Signs of a thyroid mass, such as a lump in the neck, hoarseness or difficulty swallowing.
For an accidental extra dose, a suspected overdose, or any exposure that isn’t a clear emergency, call the US National Poison Control Center on 1-800-222-1222. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day.
Related
- Liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza): the approved label
- Semaglutide dosage
- Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound)
- Dosage calculator
Where to get Liraglutide legally
Liraglutide is an FDA-approved prescription medicine, so the legal route is a licensed prescriber, in person or by telehealth, and a licensed pharmacy.
With a prescription, a 2-pen box of generic liraglutide costs $133.58 with a TrumpRx.gov coupon (as of 3 October 2026).
Every legal route for liraglutide, with dated prices →
How telehealth prescribing works, what it costs and what to check: telehealth peptide prescribing.
Research-labelled liraglutide (not the approved medicine)
These checked vendors sell a research-labelled version. It has not been reviewed by FDA, is labelled not for human use, and is tested only as the seller chooses.
1.Next Level Pharm
5 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
- Takes card payment
How research-labelled liraglutide differs, and what FDA has said →
Common questions
What is the starting dose of liraglutide?
Both Saxenda and Victoza start at 0.6 mg once daily. On both labels this is a run-in dose for tolerability, not a therapeutic one. It lets the gastrointestinal system adjust before the dose increases.
What is the maximum dose of liraglutide?
For Saxenda, the recommended maintenance dose is 3 mg once daily (2.4 mg for pediatric patients who cannot tolerate 3 mg). For Victoza, the maximum recommended dose is 1.8 mg once daily. These are different ceilings for different approved uses.
What happens if I miss a dose of liraglutide?
Both labels say to resume the once-daily regimen with the next scheduled dose, and not to double up. If more than 3 days have passed since the last dose, both labels call for restarting at the 0.6 mg starting dose. Then titrate again, rather than jumping back to the maintenance dose.
Is there a point where you stop liraglutide if it isn't working?
Yes, on the Saxenda label specifically. It calls for evaluating weight change 16 weeks after starting. If the patient has not lost at least 4% of baseline body weight, the label says to stop, because continuing is unlikely to produce meaningful weight loss. Victoza's label, for the diabetes indication, has no equivalent fixed checkpoint.
References (3 sources)
Bibliographic detail is fetched from PubMed, not written by me - so a citation here cannot drift from the paper it names. Study design comes from PubMed's own tags rather than my judgement.
- 1.SAXENDA (liraglutide) injection, solution - full prescribing information, including the weekly titration schedule, maintenance dose and the week-16 stopping rule.- DailyMed, National Library of Medicinelabel
- 2.VICTOZA (liraglutide) injection - full prescribing information, including the titration schedule and missed-dose instructions for the type 2 diabetes indication.- DailyMed, National Library of Medicinelabel
- 3.National Poison Control Center - 1-800-222-1222, free and confidential poisoning and overdose guidance.- America's Poison Centersother