U.S. Approves Wegovy Weight-Loss Pill, a Move That Could Transform Health Care

U.S. Approves Wegovy Weight-Loss Pill, a Move That Could Transform Health Care

By Lauren J. Young edited by Claire Cameron

Weight-loss pills that harness the same mechanism as the wildly popular drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are coming to the U.S.

Novo Nordisk on Monday announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its oral glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1) medication for weight loss and obesity in adults.

It’s a milestone for the industry, which has for years struggled to make effective pill versions of the weight-loss injections. Most people are more comfortable taking a pill than regularly injecting themselves, says Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist at the University of Toronto, who previously consulted for Novo Nordisk. “It’s just good to have more options for people,” he says. At the same time, the pills could greatly improve access to the medication by lowering costs—the injections can cost hundreds of dollars per month out of pocket.

On supporting science journalism

If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

“Pills are also easier to transport and produce,” says Rozalina McCoy, an endocrinologist and internist at the University of Maryland, adding that she hopes it will increase access to the drugs.

Prior to the FDA’s approval, Novo Nordisk, which also makes the injectable semaglutide drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, had seen promising results from its trials of the weight-loss pill, which will also be sold under the brand name Wegovy. In the company’s latest phase 3 clinical trial, the highest dose of the pill resulted in a 16.6 percent weight loss at 64 weeks compared to 2.7 percent on placebo. For comparison, trials of 2.4 milligrams of Wegovy injections showed up to 17.4 percent weight reduction. (The injection and pill were not compared in a head-to-head trial.)

GLP-1 drugs have transformed the weight loss industry and revolutionized how we treat metabolic disease, but until now, they have largely been available in the U.S. only as injections. Novo Nordisk’s pill for type 2 diabetes, Rybelsus, was FDA approved in 2019. But oral versions of these drugs haven’t taken off in the same way as the injectables despite even early data showing weight loss and health benefits to be relatively comparable.

The Wegovy pill, taken once a day, works similarly to the weekly injections—mimicking the activity of a gut hormone that slows down stomach emptying and makes people feel fuller. People who take it tend to eat less overall. The side effects are pretty similar to the injections, and can include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

The pills must also be taken on an empty stomach to work effectively.

“Nothing else can be taken by mouth for at least 30 minutes to allow the medication to be absorbed into the blood stream,” says John Buse, an endocrinologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who is a consultant and investigator for Novo Nordisk. “If patients take the medication with other medications, food, or even more water or coffee, the effectiveness is dramatically reduced.”

The pill’s starting dose of 1.5 mg will be available in U.S. pharmacies and select telehealth providers in early January, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Scientific American. It’s anticipated to cost $149 per month out of pocket, but could be lower depending on a person’s insurance.

Importantly, Novo Nordisk’s latest clinical trial success was based on the max 25 mg daily dose, McCoy says. Unlike the injectables which enter the bloodstream directly, the pills are broken down in the stomach, which means “the oral doses have to be much, much higher” than the Wegovy injections that cap at 2.4 mg, McCoy explains.

“I expect that the effective doses of oral Wegovy will be much more expensive than the advertised $149, unfortunately. But I would love to see this medication be more affordable,” she says.

Novo Nordisk said prices for higher doses will be shared in the new year. “We believe this is the most affordable self-pay price to date for a GLP-1 for weight loss,” the spokesperson said.

Other companies are working on their own weight-loss pills: Eli Lilly, which makes Zepbound, is developing on a weight-loss and type 2 diabetes GLP-1 pill, orforglipron, with an anticipated FDA approval in March 2026. More pill options—combined with other effective versions of these drugs in the pipeline—will open up the market and, hopefully, drive prices down, Drucker says.

“I think we’re going to go in the next like 12 to 18 months from these two main [injection] options from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to half a dozen options in this class of medicines,” Drucker says.

“That’s only going to be good for people. They’ll have more choice.”

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.