How cold does Wegovy need to be kept — and what happens if it warms up?

What the licensed storage conditions are based on

The 2–8°C requirement comes directly from the stability testing submitted to regulators as part of Wegovy's marketing authorisation. Semaglutide is a peptide medicine, and peptides are sensitive to temperature in ways that small-molecule drugs are not. Expose them to heat and the molecular structure can degrade; inject a degraded product and you may absorb less of the active medicine than the dose label promises, or introduce particulates into the injection site.

The NHS medicines page for semaglutide is clear that pens should be kept in a refrigerator. A standard household fridge set to its normal range sits comfortably within the 2–8°C band, so no special equipment is needed. What does matter is where in the fridge the pen sits: the back of the lowest shelf, close to the cooling element, can sometimes reach 0°C or below. The door and top shelf run warmer. A mid-shelf position away from the back wall is a reasonable practical choice.

One thing worth clearing up: some people assume that because semaglutide is a biological medicine it needs the same ultra-cold handling as certain vaccines. It does not. Standard fridge temperatures are all that is required for storage at home, no freezer, no ice packs at rest.

The room-temperature window: what it covers and what it does not

The SmPC and Patient Information Leaflet do allow Wegovy to be kept at room temperature for a defined period. This provision exists mainly for practical situations, a few days without reliable refrigeration, a short trip, or the time between taking the pen out of the fridge and injecting. The exact permitted duration is printed in the leaflet that comes with your pen; for the current licensed product this information is also available via the eMC product listing. Read it once and note the number somewhere easy to find.

What the room-temperature provision does not cover is leaving a pen on a bedside table indefinitely because the fridge is inconvenient, or carrying one in a warm coat pocket for several weeks. The window is a safety margin for genuine short-term situations, not an alternative storage regime. Once a pen has been at room temperature for longer than the stated period, it should be discarded, the manufacturer's recommendation is not to use it even if it looks and feels unchanged, because degradation is not always visible.

If you are wondering about how frequently Wegovy is taken and how that affects storage planning, the once-weekly injection schedule means most people go through one pen a month, straightforward to manage in a household fridge.

Travelling with Wegovy: keeping it cold without overcomplicating it

Travel is where storage anxiety tends to peak, and understandably so. A few practical realities: aircraft cargo holds can drop well below 0°C, so checked luggage is not safe. Carry the pen in your hand luggage in an insulated pouch (not frozen gel packs, ice-cold packs pressed directly against the pen risk local freezing). Most airlines allow insulin and similar medicines in hand luggage with a prescriber's letter; the same letter covers Wegovy.

For travel by car in summer, a glove box in direct sun can reach 50°C or more. A small cool bag with a room-temperature ice brick (not a frozen one) keeps the pen in range without risking freezing. Hotel mini-fridges are usually set to around 4–6°C and are perfectly suitable.

The broader question of whether Wegovy makes you feel cold is something patients sometimes raise alongside storage questions, and if you have noticed experiencing cold symptoms while taking Wegovy, the two are unrelated but worth knowing they have separate explanations. Some patients also ask whether Wegovy is the cause of feeling cold generally, which is covered in detail separately and is worth reading if this has been on your mind. For questions specific to your situation, our support team is available seven days a week.

What to do if a pen has been stored incorrectly

If a pen has been frozen (ice crystals visible, a frozen texture, or the liquid appears cloudy after thawing) do not use it. Freezing can damage the formulation in ways that are not reversible on thawing. The same applies to a pen that has spent too long above the permitted room-temperature ceiling.

In those situations: dispose of the pen via a sharps container if it has been used or uncapped, or return it to a pharmacy for safe disposal if it is still sealed. Contact your prescriber to arrange a replacement. At nume, our clinical team and aftercare support are there for exactly these moments, practical, fast and seven days a week.

Cost is a reasonable concern when a pen is lost to a storage error. If you want to understand what a private Wegovy prescription involves financially, the Wegovy cost page sets that out plainly. And if you are thinking about starting treatment or have questions about whether Wegovy is right for you, speak to our prescribers through a free consultation.