Novo Nordisk announced that the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved Victoza for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Victoza is the brand name for liraglutide, the first once-daily human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue approved in China, developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults. Victoza is indicated as an add-on to metformin or sulfonylurea (SU) in people with type 2 diabetes.

“The Chinese approval of Victoza represents an exciting opportunity to further advance therapy in people with type 2 diabetes in China,” says Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk. “Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease in China, and Victoza offers a unique treatment option by effectively reducing HbA1c and weight with a low risk of hypoglycaemia in people with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by oral anti-diabetic agents.”

Novo Nordisk expects to launch Victoza in China in the second half of 2011.

Once-daily Victoza is the first human Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Victoza works by stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreatic beta cells only when blood sugar levels are high. Weight loss with Victoza is attributed to the fact that it leads to increased satiety after meals in part by slowing gastric emptying and, in part, by other mechanisms. It is broken down naturally in the body and does not depend upon renal excretion.

Novo Nordisk has received marketing authorisation for Victoza in Europe, the US, Canada, Japan and a number of other countries, now including China.