Liraglutide labels drop the pregnancy contraindication
The FDA-approved prescribing information for the liraglutide drugs Victoza and Saxenda has dropped pregnancy from the contraindications list, though both labels still tell patients to stop the drug once pregnancy is recognized.
The prescribing labels for Victoza and Saxenda, the liraglutide-based GLP-1 drugs made by Novo Nordisk, have been revised to remove pregnancy from the formal list of contraindications. Both labels flag this as a Recent Major Change dated 05/2025 [1][2].
On the Saxenda label, the May 2025 revision touched three areas at once: the Indications and Usage section, the Dosage and Administration "Patient Selection" subsection, and the Contraindications section's pregnancy language, all marked as changed or removed that month [1]. The Victoza label similarly lists Indications and Usage as revised in 05/2025 [2]. Neither source explains, in the text provided, the clinical reasoning behind removing pregnancy as a contraindication.
Pregnancy information has not disappeared from the labels — it has moved. Both drugs now address pregnancy under Use in Specific Populations instead of Contraindications. The Saxenda label states plainly: "Pregnancy: May cause fetal harm. When pregnancy is recognized, discontinue SAXENDA®" [1]. The Victoza label uses softer, more conditional language: "VICTOZA® should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus" [2]. That wording difference between the two liraglutide products — one saying discontinue when pregnancy is recognized, the other framing it as a benefit-risk judgment — is present in the sources as provided, though it is not explained there.
This change sits alongside other label updates happening around the same time. The Saxenda label also shows a Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions update dated 10/2025 and a Suicidal Behavior and Ideation section marked for removal in 02/2026, with the label's most recent overall revision date listed as 02/2026 [1]. Victoza's label lists its own Severe Gastrointestinal Adverse Reactions update for 10/2025, alongside an earlier Pulmonary Aspiration During General Anesthesia or Deep Sedation update from 11/2024, with an overall revision date of 10/2025 [2]. The boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors, and the contraindication for people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2, remain unchanged on both labels [1][2].
Why it matters for patients
For someone taking Victoza or Saxenda, the practical instruction has not changed much: both labels still direct patients to stop the drug once a pregnancy is recognized, whether that instruction sits under "Contraindications" or under "Use in Specific Populations" [1][2]. What has changed is the formal regulatory category the FDA-approved label uses to convey that message. A contraindication is typically the strongest form of label warning, telling prescribers a drug should not be used in a given situation at all. Moving pregnancy language out of that section and into Use in Specific Populations is a different kind of label statement, and the Victoza language in particular now frames continued use during pregnancy as a benefit-risk decision rather than an outright prohibition [2].
The sources provided do not explain why Novo Nordisk or the FDA made this change, and they do not include new clinical trial data on pregnancy outcomes with liraglutide. It is not yet known from these documents whether the shift reflects new safety evidence, a broader FDA labeling convention, or something else. Patients with questions about what this label change means for their own situation have that information available directly in the current Saxenda and Victoza prescribing information [1][2].
What happens next
The Saxenda label already shows a further change scheduled for 02/2026, when the Suicidal Behavior and Ideation section is set to be removed, with the label's revision date also listed as 02/2026 [1]. The Victoza label's most recent revision date shown is 10/2025 [2]. Additional label updates beyond those dates are not described in the sources provided.
Sources
Semaglutides.org is for information only and is not medical advice. Always talk to a licensed healthcare provider about your own care. Some links to telehealth services are affiliate links, labeled where they appear.