Head-to-head evidence
cagrilintide/semaglutide vs liraglutide
Same mechanism, same race: design-graded trial evidence for both assets, with the grading rationale shown. Grades describe the quality of the evidence, never the merits of either security.
Obesity
Shared mechanism: GLP-1 receptor · full Obesity pipeline
cagrilintide/semaglutide · CagriSema
Developed by Novo Nordisk
NCT05394519 · Phase 3 · completed
This was a large, randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 1,200 patients using percentage body weight change, the standard efficacy measure for obesity treatment. CagriSema reduced body weight by 13.7% versus 3.4% on placebo, a 10.4-percentage-point difference (p<0.001), meeting the primary endpoint.
Next expected readout: March 2027 · NCT07011667 (registry estimate)
liraglutide · Saxenda / Victoza
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
NCT00781937 · Phase 3 · completed
The trial randomly assigned 212 participants to liraglutide and 210 to placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, with objective body-weight outcomes assessed at week 56. All three prespecified primary comparisons favored liraglutide and were statistically significant (each p<0.0001), supporting a strong evidence grade.
Next expected readout: December 2026 · NCT07225816 (registry estimate)
Type 2 Diabetes
Shared mechanism: GLP-1 receptor · full Type 2 Diabetes pipeline
cagrilintide/semaglutide · CagriSema
Developed by Novo Nordisk
NCT05394519 · Phase 3 · completed
This was a large, randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 1,200 patients using percentage body weight change, the standard efficacy measure for obesity treatment. CagriSema reduced body weight by 13.7% versus 3.4% on placebo, a 10.4-percentage-point difference (p<0.001), meeting the primary endpoint.
Next expected readout: June 2027 · NCT07817251 (registry estimate)
liraglutide · Saxenda / Victoza
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
NCT00318461 · Phase 3 · completed
This was a large (n=1091), randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial with both a placebo-controlled comparison (liraglutide + metformin vs metformin + liraglutide placebo) and an active-controlled comparison (glimepiride + metformin). The primary endpoint was change in HbA1c at week 26, a hard, regulator-accepted outcome for type 2 diabetes. The prespecified primary comparisons for liraglutide 1.2 mg and 1.8 mg/day were met: both were significantly superior to metformin alone (p<0.0001) and non-inferior to glimepiride + metformin within the 0.4% margin. The 0.6 mg dose was superior to metformin but did not meet non-inferiority against glimepiride + metformin, which does not negate the positive results for the clinically relevant doses.
Next expected readout: June 2027 · NCT03883412 (registry estimate)
The full competitive landscape for each asset (every same-race competitor with aligned evidence, sortable) is on the asset pages: cagrilintide/semaglutide's landscape · liraglutide's landscape