Dec 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

on Monday approved Hikma Pharmaceuticals' ( HKMPF ) generic

version of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Victoza,

which is currently in shortage in the country.

The agency said it prioritizes review of generic versions of

the drugs that are in short supply. Victoza, or liraglutide, has

been on the FDA's shortage list since 2023.

"Generic drugs provide additional treatment options which

are generally more affordable for patients," said Iilun Murphy,

FDA's director of the Office of Generic Drugs.

Hikma's generic drug first received tentative approval in

June. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters

request for comment on the drug's pricing.

Earlier this year, Teva Pharmaceuticals had

launched an authorized generic version of Victoza in the U.S.

Victoza is a once-daily injection approved for use in adults

and children aged 10 years or older with type 2 diabetes.

Demand for the drug, a first generation GLP-1, has been

falling with the loss of patent protection last year and as

patients move to more effective and once-weekly treatments such

as Novo's Ozempic and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro.

Both Ozempic and Mounjaro belong to the same class of

treatments, called GLP-1 agonists, which were initially

developed to treat diabetes, but are also approved for obesity.