Wegovy pill®

What is Oral Wegovy?

Oral Wegovy is a GLP-1 tablet that’s indicated for weight loss. Like injectable Wegovy, it works by slowing gastric emptying and suppressing hunger cues.

But unlike injectable Wegovy, which you administer once a week into your skin, oral Wegovy is a tablet you take once a day. This might be better for you if you prefer to swallow rather than inject your medication.

Is the Wegovy pill available in the UK?

Yes. Following approval by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency), the Wegovy pill became available in 2026.

How does the Wegovy pill work?

Oral Wegovy works pretty much exactly like the injectable version.

Its active ingredient is semaglutide (a synthetic version of a hormone your body produces naturally called GLP-1). GLP-1 works by sending signals to an area of your brain that’s responsible for appetite. Here, it dampens hunger signals and makes you feel fuller, helping to reduce ‘food noise’.

It also slows down the rate at which food leaves your stomach, meaning food stays in your digestive tract for longer. This means you feel physically full for longer after eating.^[1]

How effective is the Wegovy pill?

In clinical trials, oral Wegovy has proven to be just as effective as the 2.4mg dose of the weekly injection, provided it’s taken correctly.

Data from the OASIS 4 clinical trial (which tested the 25mg daily pill) showed that patients may achieve significant, life-changing weight loss.

Here are the results (as average percentage of starting weight):^[2][3][4]

(Results achieved over 64 weeks for oral semaglutide and 68 weeks for subcutaneous semaglutide, both in combination with diet and exercise.)

What doses is the Wegovy pill available in?

Oral Wegovy is designed with a ‘step-up’ (titration) schedule to allow your body to adjust to the medication. Because oral semaglutide has very low bioavailability (meaning only a tiny fraction of it is absorbed), the doses are much higher than the weekly injections.

When taking the Wegovy pill, you’ll usually follow this schedule:

• Days 1-30: 1.5 mg (the starting dose)
• Days 31-60: 4 mg (titration dose)
• Days 61-90: 9 mg (titration dose)
• Days 91+: 25 mg (the standard maintenance dose for most patients)

But if you experience side effects on a given dose, you can delay your titration to give your body more time to get used to the medicine.

How to take oral Wegovy

Always read the leaflet that comes with your medication before taking Wegovy, and if you’re unsure of anything, ask your clinician for help.

The Wegovy pill follows an escalating dose schedule, to help ease you into the medication and reduce the likelihood of side effects.

Typically, this is as follows:

• In month 1, you’ll take the 1.5mg tablet once daily.
• In month 2, you’ll take the 4mg dose once daily.
• In month 3, you’ll take the 9mg dose once daily.
• In month 4 and for the remainder of your treatment, you’ll take the 25mg dose once daily.

But it’s possible you might delay increasing your dose if you experience side effects. For more guidance on this, ask your clinician.

You should:

• only take the pill after having fasted (not eaten) for at least 8 hours beforehand (for this reason, you might find it easier to take it first thing in the morning after waking up)
• continue to fast (not eat) for at least a further 30 minutes after taking your dose (this is because the coating of the tablet breaks down too quickly if taken alongside food)
• swallow the tablet whole, with 120ml of water
• not crush or chew the tablet

If you miss a dose, skip it, and take your next one at the scheduled time.