Semaglutide vs Liraglutide
Two GLP-1 agonists from the same family, separated mainly by half-life.
The short answer: Semaglutide persists for about a week; liraglutide for about half a day.
Semaglutide
Compound in Ozempic® · Wegovy®Liraglutide
Compound in Saxenda® · Victoza®Side by side
| Property | Semaglutide | Liraglutide |
|---|---|---|
| Research category | Metabolic Research | Metabolic Research |
| Presentation | 0.25mg × 4 pens | 0.6mg × 5 pens |
| Dosage options | 0.25mg × 4 pens · 1mg × 4 pens · 2.4mg × 4 pens | 0.6mg × 5 pens · 1.8mg × 5 pens · 3mg × 5 pens |
| Approved medicine using it | Ozempic® · Wegovy® | Saxenda® · Victoza® |
| Availability | In stock | In stock |
| Batch COA | Supplied with order | Supplied with order |
| From | €292.90 | €194.90 |
How they differ
Both are GLP-1 receptor agonists built on the same principle: resist the DPP-4 enzyme that degrades native GLP-1 within minutes. They differ in how far each takes that resistance.
Liraglutide carries a C16 fatty acid chain and holds a half-life around 13 hours, which is why the approved medicines built on it are once-daily. Semaglutide uses a C18 di-acid with an added spacer, pushing albumin binding far higher and the half-life to roughly seven days — the basis for weekly dosing.
For reconstitution work this changes the arithmetic more than the pharmacology: the same target dose spread across seven days rather than one produces very different draw volumes.
For research use only. Not for human consumption, diagnostic, therapeutic or veterinary use. Brand names are trademarks of their respective owners and are referenced only to identify the active compound — no affiliation or equivalence is claimed.