Head-to-head evidence
liraglutide vs semaglutide
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
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)
semaglutide · Wegovy / Ozempic / Rybelsus
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
NCT03548935 · Phase 3 · completed
This was a randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 1,961 participants. At week 68, mean body-weight change was -15.6% with semaglutide versus -2.8% with placebo, and the primary comparison was statistically significant (p<0.0001), supporting strong evidence for this clinical weight-loss endpoint.
Next expected readout: October 2026 · NCT07505303 (registry estimate)
Type 2 Diabetes
Shared mechanism: GLP-1 receptor · full Type 2 Diabetes pipeline
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)
semaglutide · Wegovy / Ozempic / Rybelsus
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
NCT01720446 · Phase 3 · completed
This was a large randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 1,648 participants receiving semaglutide and 1,649 receiving placebo. The hard clinical primary endpoint, first major adverse cardiovascular event, occurred in 6.6% versus 8.9% of participants; the prespecified non-inferiority comparison was met (hazard ratio 0.74, 95% CI 0.58–0.95, p<0.0001), and a post hoc superiority analysis was statistically significant (p=0.0167).
Next expected readout: November 2026 · NCT07570810 (registry estimate)
Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease
Shared mechanism: GLP-1 receptor · full Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease pipeline
liraglutide · Saxenda / Victoza
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
No graded featured trial for this indication yet; the grade above reflects that absence, not a judgment.
semaglutide · Wegovy / Ozempic / Rybelsus
Marketed by Novo Nordisk
NCT04560998 · Phase 3 · completed
This randomized, quadruple-blind, placebo-controlled trial in nearly 800 people measured walking distance on a standardized treadmill test, a direct functional outcome for peripheral artery disease, and found a statistically significant improvement with semaglutide over placebo.
Next expected readout: September 2028 · NCT07617155 (registry estimate)
The full competitive landscape for each asset (every same-race competitor with aligned evidence, sortable) is on the asset pages: liraglutide's landscape · semaglutide's landscape