Wegovy and Saxenda: 2 GLP-1 weight loss drugs compared
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Are Wegovy and Saxenda the same medication? What are the differences and similarities? Let's find out.
Are you considering treatment with an injectable weight loss medication? Are you confused by the differences and similarities between Saxenda and Wegovy?
We're here to help. In this guide, we answer all the most common questions about these clinically proven obesity treatments.
Are Wegovy and Saxenda the same medication?
No. Wegovy contains the active ingredient semaglutide, while Saxenda contains liraglutide. They are different drugs that have been tested and approved separately.
However, there are many similarities between the two.
They are both injectable medications you can administer yourself using special pen cartridges. They often cause similar side effects. And they're both part of a class of drugs called 'GLP-1 receptor agonists'. This means they work in a similar way.
GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This hormone is released after we eat.
Because they're so good at mimicking GLP-1, Saxenda and Wegovy have similar effects to the natural hormone. These include:
- Helping control blood sugar
- Making you feel full for longer
- Slowing down digestion
- Controlling appetite
This is why Wegovy and Saxenda can help with weight loss. By making you feel full, controlling energy levels and reducing the urge to snack, they make it easier for you to control your eating habits.
How are Wegovy and Saxenda different?
While liraglutide and semaglutide are both injectable GLP-1 medications, they're not exactly the same.
One of the biggest differences is the dosing schedule. If you're treated with Wegovy, you only need to take the injection once per week. With Saxenda, however, you must inject yourself once daily. This is because semaglutide stays in the body for much longer than liraglutide.
An upshot of this is that Saxenda users reach the maximum dose more quickly than Wegovy users.
With both drugs, the dose is increased gradually to help your body adjust to the medication. However, it takes 16 weeks to reach the maximum dose of Wegovy. With Saxenda, it takes just five weeks.
Last but not least, Wegovy tends to be more effective than Saxenda. We know this because researchers have compared the two drugs in a head-to-head clinical trial.
The researchers compared groups of participants who took liraglutide, semaglutide and a placebo (a harmless substance with no medical effects). Those in the liraglutide group lost an average of 6.4% of their body weight after 68 weeks. The semaglutide group, however, lost 15.8% on average.
Are the side effects different?
Like all drugs, Wegovy and Saxenda can cause side effects. These are unwanted results that can happen after you take a medication.
The potential side effects of the two drugs are very similar. In both cases, the most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain and bloating. More serious side effects, such as pancreatitis and gallbladder problems, can happen but are very rare.
Evidence suggests that Wegovy tends to cause less pronounced side effects than Saxenda. In the trial comparing the two drugs, 12.6% of participants chose to stop treatment with liraglutide because of side effects. In the semaglutide group, it was only 3.2%.
In any case, most side effects were tolerable and tended to get better with time.
We haven't covered all the potential side effects here. For more information, visit the manufacturer's websites:
| Saxenda | Wegovy |
|---|---|
| An injectable weight loss medication taken using a pen cartridge | An injectable weight loss medication taken using a pen cartridge |
| Active ingredient is liraglutide | Active ingredient is semaglutide |
| Taken once daily | Taken once per week |
| Doses are 0.6mg, 1.2mg, 1.8mg, 2.4mg and 3.0mg | Doses are 0.25mg, 0.5mg, 1mg, 1.7mg and 2.4mg |
| Takes 5 weeks to reach the maximum dose | Takes 16 weeks to reach the maximum dose |
| 6.4% average weight loss in head-to-head trial¹ | 15.8% average weight loss in head-to-head trial¹ |
| Most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach upsets | Most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach upsets |
Are Ozempic and Saxenda the same?
No.
Ozempic, like Wegovy, uses the active ingredient semaglutide. However, Ozempic is used to treat type 2 diabetes, not as a weight loss treatment. The drugs also have different dosing schedules and come with different information and warnings attached.
In short, Saxenda and Ozempic are different drugs with different active ingredients. Wegovy and Ozempic use the same active ingredient but are treated as different drugs.
Who makes Wegovy and Saxenda?
Saxenda and Wegovy are both manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.
Saxenda came first – it was approved in the United States in December 2014. Wegovy was approved in June 2021.
Is Wegovy or Saxenda safer?
Both drugs have been through extensive clinical trials and are considered safe to take when you're instructed to do so by a doctor.
Can I take Wegovy and Saxenda together?
No. Taking semaglutide and liraglutide together is not safe because the drugs work in the same way. If you took them at the same time, your blood sugar could become dangerously low. You'd likely experience stronger and more unpleasant side effects, too.
Which is better: Saxenda, Wegovy or Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is another type of weight loss injection. Like Wegovy and Saxenda, it mimics the GLP-1 hormone. However, Mounjaro also mimics another hormone called 'GIP'.
Does this mean Mounjaro is more effective? The evidence seems to suggest that it works best for most people. However, it's hard to say for sure because nobody has researched the three drugs under identical conditions.
Here's what we do know:
- In separate clinical trials, the average weight loss produced was 8% with Saxenda², 14.9% with Wegovy³ and 20.9% with Mounjaro.
- In a head-to-head trial comparing Wegovy and Saxenda, Wegovy caused an average 15.8% weight loss compared to Saxenda's 6.4%.
- In a head-to-head trial comparing Mounjaro and Wegovy, Mounjaro caused an average 20.2% weight loss compared to Wegovy's 13.7%.
- Mounjaro was found to be more effective than Wegovy or Saxenda in a 2023 meta-analysis. This is a type of study that looks at separate clinical trials. However, these trials may not use identical conditions, so the results are not directly comparable.
Ultimately, which drug is 'best' comes down to which works best for you. If you take the SemaPen online consultation, our experts will recommend a custom weight loss plan to suit your unique needs and medical history.
Sources
1. Rubino, D.M. et al. (2022) "Effect of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Daily Liraglutide on Body Weight in Adults With
Overweight or Obesity Without Diabetes: The STEP 8 Randomized Clinical Trial" JAMA, 327(2) https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.23619
2. Pi-Sunyer, X. et al (2015) "A Randomized, Controlled Trial of 3.0 mg of Liraglutide in Weight Management" New England Journal of Medicine, 373(1) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1411892
3. Wilding, J.P.H. et al. (2021) "Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with overweight or obesity" New England Journal of Medicine, 384(11) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
4. Jastreboff, A.M. et al. (2022) "Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity" New England Journal of Medicine, 387(3) https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2206038
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