What is the name of the new weight loss injection everyone is talking about?

So which injection is Mounjaro, and how does it differ from Wegovy?

Mounjaro is the brand name for tirzepatide, made by Eli Lilly. It works by mimicking two gut hormones simultaneously (GIP and GLP-1) which together slow digestion, reduce appetite, and support blood-sugar regulation. It is the only dual-agonist weight loss medicine licensed in the UK. The pen comes pre-filled and delivers one dose a week; treatment begins at 2.5 mg to let the body adjust, then steps up under prescriber guidance through 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, and 15 mg.

Wegovy is the brand name for semaglutide, made by Novo Nordisk. It targets the GLP-1 receptor only. The licensed maintenance dose has traditionally been 2.4 mg weekly, though the MHRA approved a higher 7.2 mg dose in early 2026, first as three 2.4 mg pens per week, then as a dedicated single-dose pen approved on 14 April 2026. In clinical trials, Wegovy at 2.4 mg produced around 15% average body-weight reduction over 68 weeks, as published in the STEP 1 trial in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A question our prescribers hear most weeks is whether Mounjaro and Wegovy are "the same thing." They share a broad mechanism, but the dual-receptor action of tirzepatide produced meaningfully greater average weight loss in the head-to-head SURMOUNT-5 trial, published in 2025. Which suits a particular person depends on their health picture, tolerance and preferences, that is exactly the conversation to have at consultation.

What about Ozempic, is that the same injection under a different name?

Ozempic is also semaglutide, but the comparison stops there for weight-management purposes. Ozempic is licensed in the UK for type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss. The MHRA has been clear on this, and prescribing it off-label for weight management is not supported by UK guidance. If you have seen the name used interchangeably with Wegovy online, that is a conflation worth correcting before it shapes a clinical decision.

Similarly, Saxenda (liraglutide) is a GLP-1 injection that has held a UK weight-management licence for longer than either Mounjaro or Wegovy, but it requires a daily injection rather than weekly and produces smaller average weight loss in trials. It is a separate medicine, not a cheaper version of the newer options.

You can find a fuller breakdown of how each weight loss injection differs on our treatments overview, or if you want to go deeper on the labelling, our page on weight loss injections by name and brand explains how each medicine relates to the product you see on the packaging.

Who is actually eligible, and what does the prescriber assess?

Both medicines carry a UK licence for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 or above alongside at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, or obstructive sleep apnoea. Lower BMI thresholds apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance. BMI alone, though, is not the whole picture. The prescriber also considers current medicines, medical history, thyroid history, and (for tirzepatide) whether anyone takes oral contraceptives, since absorption of the pill may be affected in the first four weeks at each dose level. If you have an inflammatory condition, it is also worth reading about weight loss injections and rheumatoid arthritis, as the interaction between these medicines and certain autoimmune diagnoses is something prescribers look at carefully.

The NHS medicines page for tirzepatide gives a clear patient-level summary of the licence, including contraindications and the groups for whom these medicines are not recommended, pregnancy, breastfeeding, trying to conceive, and anyone under 18 among them. Reading it before consultation is a good use of ten minutes.

Neither injection is a short-term fix dispensed on request. They sit within a framework of dietary change and increased activity, and a prescriber review happens before every repeat supply. That is the model at nume, and it is also what NHS guidance expects of any clinically responsible service. For context on how private and NHS routes compare for cost and access, our weight loss injection cost page sets out what the figures actually mean.

Is there anything genuinely new in 2026?

The Wegovy 7.2 mg pen was confirmed by the MHRA on 14 April 2026 as a single pre-filled device for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, covering the full titration pathway from 0.25 mg up to the 7.2 mg ceiling. Trials reported around 20.7% average weight loss at that dose over 72 weeks, closing the gap with tirzepatide 15 mg results considerably.

Then on 11 June 2026, the MHRA approved Wegovy tablets (an oral semaglutide formulation) as the first GLP-1 medicine licensed for weight management in pill form in the UK. The titration schedule runs 1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg, and then 25 mg as the maintenance dose, taken once daily on an empty stomach. No refrigeration required, which removes one practical barrier for people who travel frequently. For anyone weighing up injections versus tablets, our overview of new weight loss injections covers both formats side by side.

The short version: the field moved quickly through 2025 and 2026, and if you are trying to keep track of what each product is actually called and why, our page on weight loss injection names walks through the brand and generic names across the current licensed landscape. Two injection names (Mounjaro, Wegovy) and one tablet name (Wegovy tablets) represent the current licensed landscape for weight management in the UK. A prescriber helps you work out which, if any, fits your situation. Speak to our prescribers through a free consultation to start that conversation today.