Side by side
AICAR vs Liraglutide
Both are discussed for weight loss. What this site records about each, side by side. Every figure is on the compound's own page with the source it came from.
| AICAR | Liraglutide | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A nucleoside, not a peptide. About fifteen hundred people have been given it intravenously in a heart surgery trial, where it did nothing. Banned in sport since 2009 on the strength of a mouse study. | The first GLP-1 analogue approved for weight loss. A daily injection, superseded by weekly semaglutide but still the best-documented compound in the class. |
| EvidenceHow much human evidence exists, not how well it works. | Early human trials | Approved |
| Regulatory statusReviewed 2026-09-01 | Not approved for any indication. Developed as acadesine and abandoned after a phase 3 trial was stopped for futility. Prohibited in sport at all times by WADA as an AMPK activator, and detectable. Material sold as a research chemical is not the clinical infusion product. | Approved by the FDA and EMA. Marketed as Victoza for type 2 diabetes and as Saxenda for chronic weight management at a higher dose. Both carry a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours. Compounded or research-chemical liraglutide is not the approved product and has not been through the manufacturing controls the approval rests on. |
| Routes | Subcutaneous, Oral | Subcutaneous |
| Half-life | Not recorded | 13 hours |
| Cheapest per mgVials only, read from vendors' own listings and dated on the price index. | $0.47/mg | Not recorded |
| Median per mg | $1.12/mg | Not recorded |
| Vendors with a price | 9 | Not recorded |
| Storage once mixed | Refrigerated. A small molecule rather than a peptide, so the usual peptide stability rules do not transfer. | After first use, up to 30 days at room temperature below 30 °C or refrigerated. Protect from light and do not freeze. |
Compare two other compounds · The full price index
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on BioAlmanac is medical advice. Nothing here ranks these two against each other. A table can show that one has more human evidence behind it or costs less per milligram; neither of those is a recommendation, and the right comparison for any person is one their doctor makes with them.