GLP-1 is called Glucagon-Like Peptide-1, which is a hormone mainly produced by intestinal L cells and belongs to a type of incretin. Many natural foods can promote the production of GLP-1, which can inhibit gastrointestinal motility, delay gastric emptying and suppress appetite in the human body.
Currently, the latest generation of GLP-1 drugs in the world mainly refer to Semaglutide (also known as Semaglutide) produced by Novo Nordisk in Denmark and Tirzepatide (also known as Tirzepatide) produced by Eli Lilly in the United States.
The domestic liraglutide has been on the market for many years, and semaglutide is better in weight loss effect, but it needs to be injected once a week; liraglutide only needs to be injected once a day. What is the difference between the two? Where is the price difference?
Weight loss effect: semaglutide is better than liraglutide
According to the phase III clinical trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2015 and 2021, the subjects were adults with BMI ≥ 30 or BMI ≥ 27 and one weight-related comorbidity. After the treatment, both liraglutide and semaglutide showed significant weight loss effects, but semaglutide had a greater weight loss of 12.5%. In addition, more than 50.5% of people in the semaglutide group lost more than 15% of their weight, and 32% lost more than 20% of their weight, which was much higher than the 14.4% in the liraglutide group.
▍Dosage method】:
Semaglutide injection once a week, liraglutide once a day
Liraglutide requires a daily injection, while both semaglutide injection and oral tablets can be used once a week, so semaglutide is more convenient, and patient compliance will also affect the choice of medicine.
【Similar adverse reactions】
Both drugs may cause adverse reactions. Taking liraglutide as an example, about 80.3% of people experienced at least one side effect, the most common of which was gastrointestinal discomfort, such as nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting. Most of them were mild or moderate, with incidences of 2.5% and 1.0% in the liraglutide and control groups, respectively. In the semaglutide group, about 89.7% of people reported at least one side effect, also mainly gastrointestinal problems. These symptoms usually appear early in treatment and gradually subside. Overall, the adverse reactions of liraglutide and semaglutide are not much different.
